Darling in the Franxx: Redux
by Infinity Caliber
Summary: Sometimes the smallest of changes can have the biggest of impacts. If you weren't born with wings, you just merely needed to earn the right to carry them. This is the alternative tale unable to be told before. A very great, tiny and precious tale of love and courage.
1. Chapter 1

The holding cell reeked of waste and filth. Filthy stains of uncleaned waste lay everywhere. No one had bothered to wash nor release the poor red skinned beast chained up to its walls. Thus, she was forced to relieve herself where she was. The entire scene made for a pitiful sight that any human with even the slightest bit of compassion would feel sorry for.

However, there was no such human to be found. She was barely fed by her jailers, hooded and mysterious humans who she could never recognize. She never liked them at all. They always handled her too roughly when it came to feeding time.

On the 3rd day, or was it the 4th? She couldn't tell anymore due to the lack of sunlight in the cell she was locked up in. She had her first visitor, well they came as a pair, but they were her first visitors anyway. She heard the sound of rusty metal creaking as the entrance to her cell was opened.

Werner Franxx entered with a stoic expression, he wasn't shocked or disgusted at the scene that lay before him in the slightest. Not even the stench caused him pause, he had been hardened beyond such petty matters early in his life. He had seen, and done, much worse than this.

Behind him, a browned haired assistant followed Dr. Franxx into the room, she immediately made a retching sound and proceeded to cover her nose with her hands. She looked appalled at the sight before her.

"Old fools... When I gave my instructions to keep her alive. I expected better than this. Always count on APE to do the bare minimum."

Said Werner Franxx as he pushed his gaze downwards to the chained and shivering creature beneath him. To her credit, she managed to recognize him as the doctor that performed the failed memory wipe on her. The beast hissed and snarled at him, showing her sharp canines in an attempt to display her hostility towards Dr. Franxx. He slammed his cane onto the stone floor and spoke.

"Hybrid. I am here to negotiate with you."

She kept snarling and hissing at him, baring her canines as she did so.

"Ah, doctor? I think it doesn't understand our language, so I think-"

Werner shut her up immediately.

"Silence Nana. She is more intelligent then she lets on. She understands. Look at the glint in her eye."

Nana immediately offered no further comments, she dared not displease APE's top scientist who had powers second only to the APE council themselves.

"Nana."

"Yes, doctor?"

Nana snapped to attention as she mentally prepared herself for his incoming request.

"Cut all surveillance to this cell, then leave us."

She nodded. Being Werner Franxx's assistant longer than anyone else ever managed to taught her many things about the doctor that assisted her in avoiding the fate of her predecessors. Just listen, nod your head and never ask questions. She pressed the earpiece she had on and started relaying his instructions.

"Doctor Franxx requires all surveillance in holding cell #3 to be cut immediately."

After she heard the affirmative chirp of the operator. She immediately excused herself and left the holding cell as quickly as she could. Confirming he was alone and that the CCTV camera mounted on the wall had its power LED shut off, he proceeded to negotiate his terms with the beast.

"You want to see your darling, correct?"

At the sound of that sacred word, she ceased all of her snarling and looked at him with wide, fearful eyes. Just that one single word alone turned her from a frothing rage to a docile, submissive creature ready to listen.

Truly, she was a wonderful specimen. Combining human level intelligence and displaying such emotions like empathy and affection at such an undeveloped age. Ah... Amazing!

"I can arrange that for you, but only in exchange for your cooperation. Nod once if you understand me."

A nod.

"I am not APE's puppet. I have certain plans of my own that will require specific assets and resources. You are one such asset. Thus, I find myself in need of your capabilities. Nod once if you are still following me."

Another nod.

"If you wish to ever see your darling again in your lifetime, all I require is that you swear your loyalty to me, Werner Franxx, over APE. You will be my hellhound. You will be my attack dog. You will fight and kill if I demand you to. Until the time comes when I deem your service period completed and my plans fulfilled, I shall release you to your freedom into the embrace of your darling, Code 016. Now, nod three times if you agree."

She grimaced. What other choice did she have? Stay in this tormented cell forever and rot? She didn't even get sunlight here. If she couldn't even get sunlight, how could she even think about getting darling back? Thus, with the heaviest of hearts and a parched throat she croaked,

"I swear it."

Frantic nodding followed her heartfelt appeal.

And thus, Zero Two bartered her way back into the world of the living.

* * *

He always hated meetings, even back when the world was unbroken and it was just managers demanding their staff to meet quotas. Meetings were just an excuse to waste time and everyone knew it. Even though humanity was on the brink of annihilation in a war against an unrelenting alien species called Klaxosaurs. Meetings stayed the same.

Thus, Werner Franxx yawned.

"What's wrong Werner? Forgot your daily caffeine injection?"

A female voice from a slim APE council member ribbed at him. Low chuckles spread around the boardroom of APE HQ.

"I prefer that over the magma energy injections that you old fools indulge in way too much."

In the end, it was merely harmless banter that tried to lift the heavy atmosphere in the boardroom. A heavy atmosphere created by the current statistics shown on the floating screens. Numbers and maps occupied the boardroom wall to wall, but most of them posed little significance if you knew what you were looking for.

Unfortunately, what they were looking for displayed a very grim conclusion.

"This is the casualty projections for the planned counteroffensive in the Gran Crevasse region after we lost it to an enemy offensive 6 weeks ago."

"You expect 700 dead or wounded for the invasion, that's monthly right?"

"No Papa. Per week."

A heavy silence settled over the APE boardroom. Werner Franxx rolled his eyes.

 _What over-dramatic bastards_

"Papa."

Papa, the leader of APE, leveled his gaze at the voice who spoke up, his vice-chairman and waited for him to continue.

"Papa, we need to admit that we are losing this war. We've ran the simulations. Our current attrition rate is unsustainable. If nothing changes, humanity will be wiped out in the next decade."

Papa let out a long sigh and started putting together a mental list of boxes to check in order to make sure they had every option covered. His second in command was right, humanity was losing. Something needed to change.

"What about Garden's production rate?"

"At capacity, they can produce no more with the current training regime. If we started cutting training hours or sending cadets out even younger, we would lose more than we would gain."

Upon hearing this, a bulky wide shouldered APE council member spoke up.

"Then we just need better tools of war, we need to improve our qualitative edge. We need better Franxx!"

Werner's mustache twitched at the implication that his creations were not good enough. He held his tongue and decided to let Papa handle this mess on his own. It was his job after all.

He just wanted to get back to his lab, squeeze his cute assistant's butt and perform experiments.

"Impossible, the magma cost to improve our current armory would be prohibitively costly in terms of resources. Magma energy is getting scarcer by the day. Our current Franxx are already designed with regards to cost efficiency, reliability and battle tested armaments. It's been proven sufficient to engage and destroy Klaxosaurs. The issue does not go away by blindly increasing the magma budget for Franxx production costs."

The vice-chairman dissected the bulky council member's argument with a precision that bordered on surgical.

Finally, Papa put out his question.

"What are our options?"

For the longest time, there was silence in the boardroom. Just as when Werner was about to roll his eyes and call it a day, the vice-chairman spoke up.

"We could look to the past for solutions."

Papa ears perked up. Looking to the past? Now he was interested.

"The current problems we face are simple. Our pilot training program at Garden is already operating at capacity. Our magma budget allows us no room to improve our current Franxx designs. Thus, the only option left is to increase the piloting aptitude of the average Franxx pilot and reduce their mortality rate."

"But if that requires increasing the hours of the training program at Garden. Pilot turnover would drop even further. That makes the already unsustainable replacement rate even worse."

Papa pointed out with some degree of frustration.

"In that case, we would just need to have Garden push out better pilots without increasing their training time then."

Papa balked at such an impossible declaration. But he was out of ideas, so he allowed the vice-chairman to continue.

"In the old world, the air forces of the strongest militaries included a dedicated trainer squadron to aid in researching tactical developments and doctrine. An Aggressor squadron. We could apply the same techniques to Garden's training program. Not just tactics and doctrine, the Aggressor squadron would assist in recording motion data for the Franxx and improving the Franxx operating systems for higher combat efficiency. "

The logic behind his reasoning was sound. But Papa needed to hear it from the expert himself that created the machines which bore his namesake. Doctor Werner Franxx.

"Werner, give me your take on his idea."

"A dedicated Aggressor squadron would genuinely assist me in recording improved motion data to update our current Franxx designs for a better range of motions and mobility." Werner continued.

"Also, there are optimizations that I could do to improve the Franxx OS but I require the input of expert pilots to implement them. It is a sound idea. In any case, we're better off hording our top piloting talents at the home front rather than putting them through the meat grinder of the front lines. It's an absolute waste of talent in my opinion."

"Pulling our top pilots off the front lines would weaken the combat abilities of our troops."

"Only for the short term. We might lose ground and territory in the short term, but we would come out with a stronger long term solution rather than grinding our population away to pieces for the sake of this damned war."

Werner Franxx's tone booked no argument.

With the technical expert giving his stamp of approval, Papa nodded and gave his go ahead for the creation of the first Aggressor squadron in human history that did not utilize aircraft, but mobile humanoid weapons called Franxx instead.

"After having said all that, we would absolutely need the best pilots available for the Aggressor squadron. I recommend recruiting from The Nines."

The Nines.

A squad of special forces troops falling under APE's direct command. They had the right to ignore all other orders on the battlefield if it did not come directly from the APE council. They were even above regular military justice, no one had the right to charge them with any offenses other than the APE council themselves.

They were considered far and away the most prestigious unit within the entire APE military. A hearken back to the praetorian guards of the ancient world. They answered to no one but to the APE council themselves.

"Absolutely not. The Aggressor squadron will fall under the regular chain of command with the Ground Forces. This would create a conflict of interest with their original role. Werner, you are not allowed to recruit from The Nines. This is a direct order from me as APE Chairman."

Werner Franxx allowed his frustration show on his face with a glare. Really? Humanity was going to be wiped out in a decade if nothing changed and Papa still wanted to play politics? What politics were there to be had if there existed no one to play your petty games with?

Papa noticed the outright frustration on Werner's face and knew he had to compromise. Papa was a politician back in the old world for a reason. He knew how to play the game. And that meant choosing your battles. He knew he now had to appeal to Werner's scientific side to succeed.

"Werner, the genetic base for The Nines differs from the regular forces. They simply should not be taken into consideration when comparing the capabilities of a regular pilot to the modified genes of The Nines. If their data was used to record the motion data for the Franxx, it would not be practical to apply it to the regular ground forces."

With a grumble, Werner Franxx agreed with Papa. He made to leave the boardroom, he had plenty of work to do, people to call, an Aggressor squadron to create, Garden databases to sieve through and Nana's butt to squeeze. He had been stuck in this stuffy boardroom with a bunch of old fools for too long.

Before he exited the boardroom, he looked behind towards Papa and asked,

"What should we name the new squad?"

After mulling over it for a moment. Papa let a smile creep across his face.

"APE Special Tactical Fighter Training Group"

The Aggressors.

* * *

Werner sunk into his lab's chair with a satisfied groan. Standing so long in that stuffy APE boardroom really did a number on his back. Where was that young thing, he needed to start working. Frustrated at the amount of work he had to accomplish in such a short amount of time, he yelled out.

"Nana!"

In a flash, Nana appeared beside Werner, truly she was a perfect woman he thought. Not in sight when unwanted, beside you in a flash when you called for her.

"At your side, Doctor."

Nana squealed as she felt a shameless hand grope her lavish behind.

"DOCTOR!"

 _That ass was a great quality too. Ok Franxx, let's get to work. Time to see if she really earned her keep._

"Did you do what I asked you to while I was in transit back to the lab?"

"Yes, Doctor. I have a list of high performing parasites of Garden's current batch. Putting them on screen now."

A list of high performing parasites? By the way the list extended and extended, it seemed Nana thought "high performing" merely meant putting every single double digit parasite on the list. Which still was way too many. There were over 70 candidates by the time Werner stopped counting.

 _Oh Nana. So naive..._

He needed to sieve through them, and fast. He didn't have the time to play around looking through every applicant like he was recruiting salarymen back in the old world.

"Just give me the standout candidate recommended by observers."

He gruffly demanded.

 _Just pick the best one you can find and move on, Werner._

He rolled his eyes, Ground Forces weren't exactly known for their ace pilots after all. There was a reason why their mortality rate were so...appalling.

"One parasite came with multiple recommendations, you can check his details on the panel."

A black haired child with bright blue-green eyes stared back at him. Inwardly he guffawed, was this a joke played by fate? He literally just saw the child a few days ago, except he was strapped down in his lab while he burned away all memories he had relating to the hybrid.

Well why not, it would be amusing to play along anyway.

"So, what's so special about this one?"

 _Other than the fact he broke out of Garden, made contact with a hybrid and ingested her blood. He had to spend too many hours on that dialysis machine removing every trace of the hybrid's taint in his body. APE would have found out otherwise._

"Yes, well you see, he's extremely capable in close quarters combat. His aptitude there is extraordinary. His melee scores posted on his last simulation were by far and away the absolute highest in Garden's history. Even when compared to the very best pilot in APE's arsenal, Nine Alpha, he beats his melee score by an average of 35 points. Of course, as an overall pilot Nine Alpha is still his superior, but his other pilot stats are nothing to scoff at either."

"His shooting sucks." he grumbled.

"It's average. It's in line with what a trained Garden graduate would have as well." Nana countered.

"Yeah but you would expect with someone with his piloting capabilities to be better at shooting. Bet you the boy can't even hit the broad side of a barn, with that crappy ranged score I'm looking at. Have the observers made any theories on why is his pilot stats are so lopsided?"

Observers, staff at Garden who did exactly what their namesake suggested. They observed the piloting simulations the Parasites did and recorded their pilot scores on their stat sheets. From melee proficiency, ranged proficiency, accuracy, dodging, defense, movement and teamwork. Nothing was left unrecorded.

"During the simulations, the observers noticed that as the engagement ranged shortened, Code 016's reaction time scaled exceptionally better the closer the engagement ranges occurred. Code 016 displays a unique piloting style that combines aggressive movement, excellent close quarter reflexes along with creative decision-making skills to dominate in melee combat."

"So he's a dogfighter then. Classic Aggressor archetype."

He muttered to himself.

"Dogfighter? I beg your pardon?"

Nana cocked her head inquisitively.

"Never mind a fossil like me, it's just a term used back in the old world."

Nana nodded without really understanding. Sometimes she found herself wishing that she knew how the world was like before humanity discovered magma energy or before desertification made large swaths of the world uninhabitable.

"Does he have any other skills that does not involve being amazing at punching things with a Franxx?"

Werner deadpanned.

"According to this report by his handlers, Code 016 has displayed considerable leadership traits and he has managed to form a circle of fellow parasites who look up to him from his natural charisma as well."

"Well that ticks all the boxes, that's our Aggressor Flight Leader then. But he still needs a Pistil."

Upon hearing Doctor Franxx sullenly grunt his approval, Nana inwardly jumped for joy. Truth be told, she had pushed Hiro forward as the prime candidate as she wanted one of her charges she cared for so much to escape the front lines that were destined for them in the future as a regular Garden graduate.

Nothing good ever came from being assigned to the front lines. Beaming happily, she presented the next candidate without trying to seem too obvious she had a personal stake in this.

"Already prepared! After considering piloting aptitude, compatibility and potential synchronization bonds. This is the best partner as recommended by observers for Code 016."

Another Parasite was displayed on the lab's screen, this time of a female child.

After studying her pilot stats and notes written by her caretakers. Werner grunted his approval, he couldn't find anything to nitpick there. Girl was above average in all areas, a bit boring really. Like one of those students in college who put extra effort to excel in all areas, he always found that they had the exact same personality too. Generic, comfortable, unoffensive and utterly boring.

He really should stop musing about the old world, it felt like an eternity ago where he saw humanity living its life in peace.

"Well let's go, we need to inform their caretakers at Garden of their squad transfer."

As the both of them left his laboratory for Garden, a blue-haired girl was left displayed on the lab's screen along with a raven-haired boy.

* * *

Mitsuru was crying. Correction, he was bawling his eyes out while crouched on Garden's floor.

He thought that he'd made it. He did everything he could, he put everything on the line to be with Hiro, who he made a promise with to pilot together.

He went through the highly dangerous Elixir Injection to become a proper Parasite who could pilot with Hiro. A 15% survival rate. He remembered shivering in fear as he signed up for the injection. He recalled nearly pissing his pants in terror as the needle went into his veins, cursing himself for the stupidity of his decision.

15% survival rate. Did you think you were that special? You just killed yourself and you will never see Hiro ever again! You're dead.

 _You're dead. You're dead. You're dead. You're dead. You're dead._

Day turned to night, he shivered from the after effects and stuffed his mouth with his sleeves to avoid screaming out from the burning pain that consumed his body day and night. But he repeated to himself in a mantra approaching madness,

"I WILL SURVIVE!"

Night turned to day again and then to night again.

Before Mitsuru knew it, he beat the odds. He survived the Elixir injection. Now he could pilot! Now he could be with Hiro as promised!

But then an old man with weird mechanical pieces on his body came and told them Hiro and Ichigo were being transferred to an elite squad. A squad so elite that even a double digit like Goro was instantly rejected without a second glance when he tried to apply in an attempt to stick together with his childhood friends.

Goro the double digit. Double digit codes were considered to be an elite status of Parasite amongst the regular Parasites. Mitsuru himself had a triple digit code. Code 326.

In terms of ranking, he was complete garbage compared to Goro. Goro, who got instantly turned down for not being good enough to apply to the new elite squad Hiro and Ichigo were being transferred to. If Goro got blown off without a second glance, what chance did a triple digit piece of garbage have?

 _So why the hell did I suffer so much for? Why didn't Hiro reject the transfer?_

Bitterness and resentment started to built up within him. He started to hate Hiro. Hiro, who he looked up to all his life. Hiro, the person everyone adored in Garden and seemed to uplift an entire room just by entering. Hiro, the only one directly mentioned by both caretakers and observers as a special Parasite to take note of.

Hiro the cheerful ball of energy that he admired. Hiro the passionate and charismatic leader that he idolized. His best friend, Hiro. _  
_

 _Hiro the liar._

Right now, Mitsuru hated Hiro more than anything else in this world.

 _I will never forgive him._

Goro felt concerned about the bawling Mitsuru in the corner, He wanted nothing more than to go to him, put a hand on his shoulder and comfort him. However, he had troubles of his own that prevented him from doing so. Notably, the fact that he was about to lose two of his closest childhood friends.

He tried to be rational, it was not like they were going to a front line unit to fight and die. They were just going to a super elite squad to assist in improving the training regime that all Parasites received. Hiro was doing this because he wanted to help as many Parasites as possible.

Even he would be reaping the benefits as he would be trained under the improved training program borne out of Hiro and Ichigo's hard work, sweat and effort. But deep down, he just wanted them to stay together. He wanted to be with his friends forever. He didn't want them to ever part.

 _They were family._

And family isn't supposed to part. Those were the thoughts running through Goro's mind as his eyes started to water. He looked at Hiro and Ichigo talking to the old man with the weird metal bits sticking out of him. He wanted desperately to cry out to them, hold them back and scream his lungs out begging them not to leave. But he knew if he did that, he would be selfish.

 _So Goro clutched his aching heart and sobbed away his sorrows._

In contrast, Ichigo didn't even notice the multitude of emotions running through the two of her Garden's classmates. She was happier than she had ever been in her entire life! She felt like someone filled her with a liter of concentrated happiness and left the valve closed. She was beaming and giggling as she stood beside Hiro receiving their briefing by Dr Franxx.

Hiro, the one person she chased, and be the only one she would chase, in her entire life. The one boy she loved more than anything else. She was being told she would be transferring to a super elite squad with Hiro AND be his pistil!

She had to slap herself a couple of times to convince herself it wasn't a silly fantasy she was dreaming up. That meant she would be with Hiro forever. She would grow up with him. She would pilot with him. They were going to be adults together. They were going to be together forever. Her racing heart never felt like it could pump any faster and she was pretty sure she was blushing as well.

As she glanced once more at the boy standing next to her listening to the speech the old man was giving (that she was TOTALLY ignoring after she heard the important bits of "go be with Hiro"), her mind only had a singular thought running through it,

 _It's a dream come true._

All she had to do now was not to embarrass herself by fainting from the happiness currently running through her heart. But if she fainted, would Hiro catch her like a knight in shining armor? She felt tempted to try testing it out. Ichigo shook her and and mentally slapped herself for being silly.

"So, you'll be the Flight Leader, Code 015 here will be your second in command as well as your pistil. This isn't a combat assignment so you can rest easy on being sent to the front lines. You might have to tackle a captured Klaxosaur in a controlled environment once in a while to determine the best tactical way to engage them, but you'll be accompanied by the garrison Franxx for security. As soon as you said your goodbyes, we'll be leaving for your new lodgings. Any questions?"

Hiro nodded as he took in all of the information the old metal man told him but it seemed like a good choice to agree even before he was told this. Besides, he wouldn't be completely alone in his new squadron, Ichigo was coming along as well. Hiro eyes shone with a bright determination as he was informed the purpose of the new squadron.

To Hiro, participating in research and development of new tactics to assist their fellow parasites into getting a better chance of survival was the noblest goal he ever heard of. He would miss Goro and everyone else back at Garden, but he had a mission now. And he was going to achieve it no matter the cost.

If even one parasite's life was saved by the improved training he would provide Garden. It would make all the pains of separation worth it.

"No questions. We'll both be going to say our goodbyes now. We won't be long, Doctor."

Stepping forward with Ichigo by his side, Hiro saw the bawling Mitsuru, Goro clutching his chest and sobbing and for a brief moment, his determination wavered. A flickering thought went past his head telling him to run back to the doctor and tell him he was staying.

However, he remembered the one line that swayed him when he first pulled them aside from their ball game in their usual social circle.

 _"You will save Parasite lives if you accept this offer."_

Inhaling deeply, he stepped forward and approached Goro first. Goro was family after all, he needed to be prioritized, he would apologize to Mitsuru later. Ichigo followed him, it was time for their final hug for a long, long time.

As he neared Goro, their gazes met each other and Goro already knew what Hiro was here for. The fact the Ichigo was here as well confirmed it. So, he pulled himself together, wiped the tears off his eyes and stepped forward to embrace the closest thing in this world he considered to be his brother.

Ichigo joined in the hug as well, the three of them held on for what seemed like an eternity, with hushed whispers between the three childhood friends, soon to be split apart.

"It's ok. It'll be ok. Stop crying Hiro, you're gonna make me cry too dammit."

"We will meet again, I swear it."

"I believe you, and make sure Ichigo is there as well or I'm never going to forgive you!"

"I wanna be there too you know! You make it sound like Hiro has to drag me along or something, jeeze."

After a final yell of "FRIENDS FOREVER!" (Ichigo said the first part in a softer voice while crossing her fingers). The trio released from their shared hug and went their separate ways.

It would be three years before the trio came together once more.

With his green-blue eyes blazing with determination, Hiro looked forward to the future.

Forgetting that he ever made a promise with a red skinned beast under a tree in the snow.

 _Nor did he notice Ichigo's hands inching closer towards his._


	2. Chapter 2

The massive transport plane hummed with the vibrations of its engines as it carried its passengers and cargo towards its destination. Zero Two didn't understand how her current stamen could sleep in such an environment.

Stretching her legs out, she complained,

"I wanna take a bath."

"Not again. Have some self-control."

Was the reply she received from the grumpy old man seated near the front row. He then looked away and gave her no more attention. Quickly falling into boredom, she shifted to a different target of her interest.

"Hey, how do I smell?"

Zero Two lifted the back of her hand to her nose and sniffed as she directed her question to the heavily injured young man sleeping in a seat across the aisle from her.

"Leave him alone, he's heavily injured, he needs his rest."

"Well, just a bit more to cross the line and he can sleep all he wants since he seems to be half dead anyway."

Zero Two snarked back at the doctor.

"I wonder how long we'll be at this Plantation this time before we return the front lines. I wonder if I could get a swim in. Hey, is there a lake anywhere near here?"

"There's none, won't a shower suffice?"

"Ehhhh? But I wanna swim..."

Nana rolled her eyes, used as she was to Zero Two's personality by this point and didn't skip a beat to suggest showering as an alternative. Not allowing anything to bother her as Zero Two rejected her suggestion in favor of even more complaining.

"I think when we get there, you'll have more things to be concerned about than your swim, this Plantation is different. I'm here to hold up my end of the bargain."

Zero Two immediately made a sound of surprise and jerked upright in her seat. Her neck turned so quickly towards the doctor she heard it crick.

"What do you mean? Am I finally going to meet my da-"

Werner cut her off immediately before she could compromise anything important.

"Nana, give us some privacy please."

"Well then, I'll just go check on the pilot and ask him how much longer to landing."

As Nana walked out of the passenger cabin, Zero Two focused her full attention onto the doctor. She was not going to miss a word that came out of his mouth no matter what.

"Yes. Your darling that you've searched for all your life is here. Code 016 is attached to Plantation 13's Franxx squad. You've held up your end of the bargain magnificently over the years, now it's my turn to pay up."

A million questions started running through Zero Two's head and she couldn't stop herself from rapid firing questions to the doctor, who replied to everything in turn.

"He's really here, then? This isn't another of your pranks?"

"Yes, Code 016 is currently assigned to Plantation 13. And I don't do pranks."

"How much time do I get to spend with my darling at Plantation 13? I don't want to go to the front again without my darling."

"As much time as you want. I've pulled you from The Nines for the foreseeable future using my contacts in APE."

"Then make him my permanent stamen. I will never pilot with anyone else other than darling EVER again!"

Upon hearing that, Werner raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"You know, back in my day , you had to ask the other person. Youths these days..."

"What are you talking about, you stupid old geezer?"

Werner sighed, he really should just give up and stop talking about the old world.

"It's up to him, Zero Two. Good luck."

He deadpanned.

"It's alright, once I meet him, he's going to remember the promise we made and everything will fall into place."

"He will not."

Zero Two blood froze. What did that mean? "He will not"? What was going on? Why couldn't she stop the creeping feeling of unease crawling on her skin?

Zero Two's stomach churned from the sheer impact those 3 words the doctor uttered and the implications they carried.

"Wha...What do you mean?"

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't control her voice from shaking.

"Your Klaxosaur biology proved surprisingly resistant to the memory alteration. We couldn't even make a dent in your memories no matter how much we tried. Code 016 however, was not. I've erased all memories he had pertaining to your meeting in Garden. He remembers nothing of the time you and him spent together."

Zero Two felt the white hot fury surge through her body, her muscles primed and got ready to rip her target to pieces, to shred him to bloody ribbons, to pound him into ground meat. Zero Two stood up as she prepared to tear apart the doctor for his false promises.

"YOU LIED TO ME!"

Werner remained calm despite the sheer hostility radiating from Zero Two. He already knew that this would happen and continued on as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Zero Two, sit down and listen to me. It was either a mindwipe or an APE firing squad for Code 016. It was absolutely the only way to keep him alive for the transgression he committed by making contact and attempting to escape with you, the hybrid speciment. I saved his life with that mindwipe, Zero Two. Without that mindwipe, your precious darling would be dead in a ditch somewhere with a round in his brain."

Zero Two closed her eyes and forced herself to slow down her breathing in an attempt to calm herself. What the doctor said made sense. No matter what, alive darling beats dead darling any day of the week. He had been open and honest with her the entire time, no reason to believe he would start lying now.

'Focus, you still have important questions that needs to be answered.'

"How much have you erased from his memory?"

"I was careful. I only removed the memories where he interacted with you. Nothing more, nothing less."

With no more questions, Zero Two returned to her seat and settled down, processing all the information that she had gained over the plane ride. Darling didn't remember her. But that was fine. She had all the time in the world and she had confirmation from the doctor that this boy was her one and only darling.

So what if he didn't remember her? She'll just have to make new memories with him then.

No matter what, she would not give up.

No matter what, she will chase darling even if it means going to the ends of the earth.

No matter what, he will be hers in the end. There is no other acceptable outcome for the being called Zero Two.

Glancing outside the window, Zero Two noticed a familiar raven-haired boy look up towards the transport plane from the ground below.

Touching the window gently, she whispered her promise.

"I'm coming, darling."

 _Just you wait._

* * *

The office of the Plantation 13's administrator reflected the person that occupied it. Plain. Spartan. Drab. Everything screamed of utility and nothing else.

Hiro bet he didn't even have a secret bottle of whisky hidden somewhere to crack open if they ever won the war. Hachi was that straight-laced.

"Code 016"

Hachi's voice pierces his train of thoughts and he immediately focused himself for what he knew was already going to happen.

"Effective immediately, you are being released from active duty. The reason being your constant failures to activate a Franxx for the past 12 months. However, due to your prestigious service record with the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group, you are being granted special permission from APE to stay on with Plantation 13 and assist with the development of their Franxx squad. Your response is required by the end of the week. Barring that you will be forced to relocate back to Garden."

A part of Hiro's mind wanted to reject the offer and run away back to Garden to hide in a hole for the rest of his life, but Ichigo and Goro were both here as well. He owed both of them. It wouldn't be right to just turn into a coward and run away from his problems. He carefully considered his next words towards Hachi.

"I accept APE's generosity and will remain at Plantation 13 to assist in the development of it's Franxx squad."

"I also have some extra information to share with you that you might be involved in."

"Go ahead."

"We've received confirmed reports that Aggressor-2 and Aggressor-3 have been KIA on the Gran Crevasse front. You and Code 015 are the last surviving members of the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group."

"It's no big loss anyway, the STFG wasn't really fulfilling it's original roles for the past year. Ever since it got broken up and each member got their reassignments from APE."

The coldness that seeped through Hiro's voice surprised even Hiro himself, but it was what he generally felt these days. Apathy and bitterness seemed to be the norm more and more often for him. He shook his head to shoo away the gathering dark clouds.

"You sound bitter for some reason."

"I wonder why."

Hiro sarcastically replied. To that Hachi tilted his head in confusion which made Hiro groan. Did Hachi really not understand sarcasm as well?

Truly he is a straight shooter if you ever saw one.

"You said it yourself, didn't you? That Ichigo and me are the last surviving members of the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group. That's not a coincidence. When the STFG was broken up, the other members were posted to combat units on the front line while the both of us got posted to a rear echelon area like Plantation 13 where all APE did was treat us like trophies they could show around. For what? Just so they could avoid the morale shock if they had the Aggressor Flight Leader killed on the front, that's all. Can you imagine how the morale of the ground forces regulars would tank if they knew the reality where even an elite pilot could get torn to pieces on the front line?"

The bottle had been uncorked. There was no stopping Hiro from now dangerously approaching treason by his slander against APE. The same APE which made a conscious effort to allow Hiro and Ichigo to laze their carefree days away in a rear echelon Plantation eating honey soaked bread and reading the entire library catalogue.

If Hiro allowed himself to be particularly cynical, he would have thought that it would have been more prudent to shut up, keep his head down, show off the wings on his left shoulder when prompted to while APE took great care to tuck it's prized Aggressor poster boy behind in the rear safe and sound. Ichigo, in particular, was outright enjoying the privilege of spending carefree days with the boy she loved the most.

But he couldn't hide from the truth anymore. Beyond the walls, there was a war raging. A war for the survival of the human race. Every morning when he saw Ichigo dip her bread in honey. He always thought of the pitcher being filled with the blood shed by his comrades on the front line that allowed him to enjoy this decadent lifestyle.

For obvious reasons, he never ate much at breakfast.

"It's hypocritical of APE, we're all Parasites in a war against the Klaxosaurs. We all know the risks. We all know death is a possibility. That's why we take pride in our service. That's why we talk about the ultimate sacrifice to allow humanity just one more day to see the sun rise. But APE took that away from me as well. While the both of us relax and eat honey soaked bread in the rear, our fellow Aggressors were sent to the front and killed." Hiro voice rose as he found himself unable to control his emotions.

"You know Hachi, nowadays, I feel more like a propaganda piece rather than an actual Parasite."

Hiro panted for breath after that torrent of emotion he'd just released. Although he felt lighter from finally uncorking the bottle of troubles he was saving up, hearing himself spell out APE's hypocrisy plainly for all to see merely served to show him how messed up his life was.

"Not every life has the same value, Hiro."

There's an oppressive silence for a good minute or so as the weight of what Hachi said was digested by Hiro. Hachi for his part, remained expressionless and passive as ever, waiting for Hiro to either leave or ask another question.

"When is Naomi leaving?"

"Later today, will you be seeing her off?"

Hiro left the room without a word.

* * *

The bright sunshine and the sounds of flowing water in Mistilteinn did nothing to lighten the dark clouds hanging over Hiro. While brooding over his conversation earlier with Hachi, Hiro was presented with a contrasting image that went against the bright cheeriness of the controlled atmosphere and weather of Mistilteinn.

A bird with his wings broken and bloody was gasping its last breaths in the mortal world. It's blood, a bright red crimson, stained the grass beneath it.

Hiro looked up to the sky and imagined it flying just moments ago before it was forced to the ground in a harsh awakening towards the cruel reality it had lived in.

Just like him.

In a twisted way, he felt happy for the dying bird. Because it would die soon and all it's troubles would end.

"Look what we got here, and I was wondering what stank of egoistical moping."

Hiro knew that sneering drawl anywhere. Unconsciously, he tensed himself for the upcoming confrontation.

"Wow, what a good reflection of you that you got there. You know this is gold. This shitty bird about to die in a pile of it's own blood and shit is poetic in a way for a washed up celebrity like you. You know, you should be careful around these parts. You aren't in your fancy STFG postings anymore."

Hiro fixed his gaze on the distant scenery and waited for Zorome to run out of steam and leave. Zorome pointed to the bloody broken bird on the ground.

"You see this? We're on Earth now. Earth runs on it's own set of rules unlike your STFG ivory towers. And those who don't fall in line on Earth-"

Zorome stomped hard on the bird with his boot. Killing it with a sickening crunch.

"Gets crushed. Watch your back... Aggressor."

Stomping away from the scene, Zorome hurried to put as much distance to Hiro as possible while emanating an aura of disgust as if he would be contaminated by a virus if he had stayed there any longer.

Hiro glanced at his left shoulder.

A patch with an emblem of a Valkyrie's wings and a dagger crossing down the middle.

The unit patch which stated that one belonged to the absolute cream of the crop of APE's regular Ground Forces.

The APE Special Tactical Fighter Training Group.

AKA: The Aggressors.

Only one person other than him wore this patch on this base.

 _On this planet._

He mentally corrected himself.

His wings felt heavier than ever before.

* * *

If Hiro thought he had black clouds over his head before that interaction with Zorome, he was 100% sure of that now. No matter how much he walked or how much he stomped his shoes onto the grass, he found it impossible to clear his mind nor calm down.

Until he heard singing.

It was a female voice, otherworldly and enrapturing.

Like a sailor being drawn to a siren's trap, Hiro tracked down the source of the singing.

Ducking into some bushes as he came closer to the sound of the singing, he looked around for the source.

Finally, he saw her.

A pink haired girl in a red uniform in a style he didn't recognize. Those weren't standard issue Parasite uniforms. But what grabbed his attention the most was the pair of red horns on the top of her head framed by a white band. While one would question why was there a pair of horns on anyone or recoil in disgust, for some reason...

 _He thought those horns were absolutely beautiful._

She had her back facing towards him as she sat on the lake's edge. Her white boots and black pantyhose were neatly folded beside her as she swished her feet in the lake. The soft sounds of swirling water enticed him to go closer.

And so he did.

A cracking sound from beneath him betrayed his intentions.

 _Stupid Twig!_

"Who's there?"

Her voice was sharp and tense as she turned her head towards the source of her noise. But when she laid her eyes on to the cause of the disturbance, Zero Two's entire world froze.

It was him. The one person she saw every time she closed her eyes. The first and the last thing that went through her mind every single day of her life was her darling. When she woke in the mornings, she wondered if darling remembered her. Before sleep overtook her, she wondered if darling thought about her before he slept as well.

Zero Two was not a quitter.

She never gave up. Not even in the darkest days of her life when Streliza was covered in Klaxo gore and her stamen was an unmoving corpse-bag of meat. Not even as she screamed her throat raw when Streliza was dogpiled by more Klaxosaurs than she could count, she would always return alive for darling.

She wasn't allowed to die before darling did. She would bite and claw her way through a mountain of Klaxosaurs if she had to, just to survive. She never stopped hoping to meet him. She never stopped searching. She never stopped thinking about him.

Over time, the Hiro in Zero Two's mind became something less than an actual person. But an ideal which she put on a pedestal and worshipped.

 _And craved for oh so much._

Her body was made for this one person. Her heart was made for that one person. Her very soul was made for that one person.

Her savior.

 _Her darling._

 _Darling._

 _Darling._

 _Darling._

 _Darling._

 _Darling. Darling. Darling. Darling. Darling._

 _Darling_

 _Is_

 _Right_

 _There!_

A lascivious grin broke out on Zero Two's face as she purred under her breath.

"Thank you for the meal."

She leapt up with the force of an exploding firecracker. Not caring if the water splashed on her boots and pantyhose that she left behind as she immediately made a beeline to darling. Her intense gaze locked onto Hiro's worried ones.

 _Scared darling is kinda cute too_

Hiro froze like a deer in the headlights when the twig snapped under his shoes. The violence of how the pink haired girl leapt up from the lake's edge broke him out of his daze. Her intense, smoldering gaze had a glint of hunger, passion and just the tiniest bit of danger. Hiro realized that he found it scary.

 _And also kinda hot at the same time  
_

Hiro started to back away from the incoming pink haired wrecking ball coming straight for him. Until his back hit the trunk of a tree with a thump and his heart sank as he realized, this was it. It was happening whether if he wanted it or not. His heart raced in fear _and anticipation_ at what was going to happen next. His breathing sped up until the pink haired girl finally breached his personal space and slammed her palm onto the tree trunk at the same time his heart slammed against his ribcage.

The tree shook and deposited some falling leaves, one which caught onto her shoulder. Near the crook of her neck.

 _Which looked so smooth and so white and so alluring_

And all this time, her eyes never left his for _even._

 _one._

 _second._

Hiro's entire body froze up like it was dipped into a tank of liquid nitrogen and dared not move an inch nor squeak a decibel of sound, lest he trigger the hungry

 _And oh so hot_

Creature that stood barely two inches away from his face.

All this while, not a single word had been exchanged between the two. Leaning close into the crook of his neck, the pink haired girl indulged herself as she gulped down deep lungfuls of his scent.

Hiro heard another inhalation from beside him.

And once again.

And again.

She kept repeating this action for an uncomfortably long time until he realized, she was actually sniffing him and savoring his scent. Feeling a rush of heat flood his face, Hiro froze as his mind struggled to cope with shamelessness of the pink-haired girl's open want towards him. _  
_

 _Treat her like a bear, just don't move and she'll leave once she's had her fill_

He heard a guttural groan come from the pink haired girl's throat and a soft repeating noise that took him some time to identify but completely blindsided him the moment he figured it out.

 _She was panting!_

 _Okay! That's enough of that!_

As Hiro moved to push her away, he made a crucial error that he would come to (not)regret. Every time Hiro had to physically push someone away while they were clowning around, it was always a guy.

Which meant his palm would have touched the person's chest to push them away.

A warm, soft squishing sensation filled his palms. _  
_

Hiro heard a sharp intake of breath emit from the girl before he felt a wetness coat his cheek, his mind dully realizing that she had just licked his cheek. Immediately diving to nuzzle her own cheek against the spot she had just licked, Hiro found himself being nuzzled so furiously he felt the heat generated from the friction their skin caused as they rubbed on each other.

At this point, Hiro's mind simply rolled over and gave up from the absurdity of the situation.

He was stuck with his back to a tree trunk, pressed against the contrasting texture of soft warm female flesh in his front and hard tree bark on his back, with the only sounds filling the air being the high pitched moans of pleasure the female lizard in front of him was giving out. Not to mention his hand was on the breasts of this crazy pink-haired girl who had touched him more in three minutes than everyone else in his entire life combined.

That he still had not exchanged a single word with. By the way.

And he was enjoying every second of it.

 _It was happening anyway so, lets just roll over, give up and just go with it._

 _I wonder if she's a good conversationalist._

Maybe today wasn't so bad after all, Hiro thought to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

After what seemed like an eternity of frantic snuggling and nuzzling, the pink haired girl eventually calmed down. Whether be it for reasons of physical exhaustion or she reaching her daily skinship quotas, Hiro knew not the reason.

But one thing was for sure, she looked like she took a dip in the wellspring of rejuvenation with how refreshed she looked. If he didn't know better, he would have accused her of sucking his life force to sustain herself.

Releasing her vice like grip on Hiro, she proceeded to take a step back and slowly stretch her body to work out all the kinks that had accumulated in the past half hour of frantic (one-sided)cuddling she administered to Hiro. Stretching her body as if she had just awoken from a particularly satisfying afternoon nap, with the accompanying noises of pleasure, she shifted her body in places that gave his eyes a visual feast of a lifetime.

If Hiro's eyes weren't so focused on how her chest pressed itself deliciously against her uniform top, he would have noticed that the pink haired girl was observing his reactions with her half lidded eyes slyly watching his every move. And the slight upward tilt of her lips betrayed how much she enjoyed the attention she was getting from her darling.

A jolt of pain across his lower back stopped Hiro from enjoying his visual feast any further. The harsh reality of having his back squashed against the hard bark of a tree trunk for the past half hour made itself known as a knot of muscle in his lower back cramped painfully.

Wincing his eyes from the pain, he proceeded to diligently massage his lower back to release the built up tension and to loosen the muscle cramp.

Just then, the pink haired girl seemed like she was about to say something. Hiro's ears immediately perked up. Finally! He was about to find out if conversation was one of her qualities!

He must have jinxed it with his eagerness as she immediately stopped mid-way and only made an irritated "tsk" sound. The rustling of the bushes behind him confirmed his suspicions that she was avoiding someone.

"There you are. I was looking all over the place for you."

A hoarse voice called out from behind Hiro. He turned around to identify the speaker.

The first thing he noticed was that he was wearing a Stamen suit. The second thing he noticed was the massive injuries that he had on his body. He had a brace on his neck, a sling for his arm and a bloody bandage over his left eye that was still stained crimson. He looked like an escapee from the morgue that wasn't told that he was supposed to be dead right now. The third thing he noticed was the crowd of black suited men with dark sunglasses trailing him at a distance.

But what scared him the most wasn't the injuries or the bandages. It was that the silver-grey haired Stamen was tall and powerfully built. His well defined muscles rippled against his Stamen suit and he was clearly a man of great physical capability.

Which somehow stuck a deep primal fear within Hiro when he saw such a mighty person look like he was basically a cripple. Was he a Stamen transferred from the front line to recuperate at the rear? Would that be his fate when he went to the front lines?

Hiro was so preoccupied that he did not notice the pink haired girl brushing past him to walk towards the Stamen.

"You shouldn't bother people like that. He doesn't know what you're capable of."

The pink haired girl merely huffed in response.

"Hey you."

The Stamen addressed him directly.

"Sorry she bothered you. Let me give you a piece of advice."

Hiro ears perked up again, he was interested in any scraps of information regarding the mysterious pink haired girl that basically groped him for the last half hour.

"Stay away from her. She's not a regular Pistil."

His eyes flickered towards Hiro's left shoulder.

"It would not be good if we lost a trainer such as you."

Hiro narrowed his eyes, it seemed that people only judged him for the patch he wore on his shoulders these days. But he bit his tongue and held back a sarcastic reply.

Then he noticed the pink haired girl had her gaze burning a hole into him the entire time even though multiple black suited men were speaking to her. He strained his ears to try and catch what they were talking about but it was no good. But he was glad he was looking towards the pink haired Pistil at that moment, as it seemed his day still had surprises in store for him.

She winked at him , blew a kiss and spoke the first actual intelligible words he heard from her.

"I'll see you later, Darling~"

And with a swoosh of her greatcoat that caused some of the leaves on the ground to rustle. She left behind only the ducks in the lake and a stunned ex-Stamen in her wake.

* * *

"Aren't you going to join the graduation parade? You know, sneaking off somewhere to hide during an important occasion such as this isn't how you're going to improve your relationships with the squad."

She was always good at finding him whenever he went out of his way to not be found. She knew all of his hiding spots like the back of her hands.

 _That's the scary power of a childhood friend for you._

"Not like it would change their opinion of me anyways. What about you? Don't you feel bad leaving Goro to stand there alone and giving the adults the wrong impression? Not to mention you're squad leader too, so truancy is gonna look twice as bad on you."

Hiro leveled a questioning look to the blue haired girl standing over him with her fists on her hips.

"Goro was always going to stand alone in the graduation parade, I was allocated a booth near the front row for observation. It would have seemed weird if I took part in the graduation parade considering I'm already a full fledged Pistil instead of a recruit."

Hiro shot her a disbelieving look.

"Like anyone cares to take note of the small details like that. We all know the adults just pretend to pay attention so they can get an excuse to indulge in the sweet wine they only serve at celebrations like this."

Ichigo rolled her eyes.

"We might be able to get away if we were just another Pistil or Stamen. But we're not."

At that moment, Hiro did the exact same action towards Ichigo that he disparaged many others for doing all the time around him.

He glanced at the patch on her left shoulder.

Wings and a dagger.

"Yeah, we're not."

He replied bitterly. Hiro's eyes flickered towards the clock across the wall and took note of the time, as he made to leave to his next destination.

He could feel Ichigo's gaze never leaving his back as he made his way to the departure terminal.

* * *

The silence was oppressive. Hiro usually enjoyed silence but even this was too much for him. It felt like a physical pressure was trying to choke out all the air from his lungs.

He stood a couple of paces away from Naomi, as she gripped the handles of her luggage case so tight her knuckles went white. He pretended he did not notice that. He needed to distract himself with something in order to escape this oppressive atmosphere. So Hiro did what he seemed to do best for the past year he had been in Plantation 13.

He brooded about the past.

"New orders. Directly from APE."

Doctor Franxx handed him an enveloped sealed with the wax stamp of APE. Ichigo looked over his shoulder curiously and awaited for him to open it. Anything directly from Papa was a huge matter, so she felt a sense of anxiety as she thought of the possible scenarios.

Would it be finally time for her and Hiro to hit the front lines? Were they going to be decorated with an award in some pompous ceremony for their achievements? Just a month ago, they finally managed to figure out how to tweak the joints of the Standard Franxxs in order to achieve a 9 percent superior handling and reaction time. Which was a massive improvement considering it was a minor change that did not affect the production costs of the Standard Franxx, nor require any major overhauls to the design.

"By the way, the rest of the squadron has also received their letters from Papa."

Ichigo mind turned at that revelation. Everyone got a different letter? What did that mean?

"What's in the letter?"

"I don't know. That's what the seal is for you know. Stop assuming I automatically know everything for some reason."

Werner deadpanned. He then left the room as per APE protocol that no third party could be in the presence during the opening of a sealed confidential message.

With agonizing slowness , Hiro broke the seal and opened the letter. He held it so close to his body and stared at it so intently that Ichigo had trouble reading it over his shoulder. Her shorter height compared to the black haired boy not helping matters at all. Even hopping up and down didn't give her the view she wanted.

Finally, Hiro turned towards her and pushed the letter towards her. She would never forget the expression on his face during that moment for the rest of her life.

Hiro just seemed utterly lost. He murmured the following words as if he was sleepwalking,

"We're being reassigned. APE feels that we've accomplished all we could as a trainer squadron."

Ichigo now understood the reasoning for the hollow look currently on Hiro's face.

"Where are we going? To the front?"

She couldn't stop her voice from shaking. It seemed the time had come to finally awaken from the dream.

"No. To a Plantation to the rear. Plantation 13."

Ichigo heaved a sigh of relief, so not the front lines then. No imminent risk of death or injury, she could continue being with Hiro.

"We should tell the rest!"

Ichigo made to leave but a hand gripped her wrist. Hiro looked at her with empty eyes. It was a look that would periodically return to haunt her in her nightmares.

"They're not coming with us. They're going to the front to join a combat unit."

And with that sinking feeling in her tummy. She realized why Hiro felt so shattered. He realized why Ichigo and himself were spared the death sentence. And he hated himself for it. She too felt the creeping guilt crawl across her skin like a disgusting slime that infected every pore.

She fought the urge to puke.

 _Ah, so this is what it feels to have survivors guilt._

But at least she and Hiro would be safe, for the moment. They would be safe in that Plantation at the rear. And she clung to that hope like a life buoy. Her dream wasn't ending just yet.

Little did Ichigo know how wrong she would be.

Plantation 13 would be where everything changed.

* * *

 _"Positive pulse and P-factor dropping. Timed out. Commencing Stage-6 linking. Measuring ability score. Negative pulse detected. Positive pulse on standby. Three. Two. One. Timed out."_

She thought it was a fluke, a freak accident, something that was completely impossible, but she couldn't even activate a Franxx with Hiro after arriving at Plantation 13. No matter how much she tried and tried.

After two years of successfully being Hiro's Pistil in the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group. Two years of falling asleep together in the library after studying Klaxosaur biology through the night and losing track of the time, where she sometimes even had the privilege of shaking him awake in the mornings. Two years where their Mass Production Streliza moved like it was an extension of their bodies.

After over 87 logged excursions in their Mass Production Streliza. After having a synchronization bond with such high scores that they plowed through everything in their path.

 _Everything fell to pieces after reaching Plantation 13._

"Code 015 and 016, please leave the cockpit and head to the briefing room."

The cold voice of Nana pierced through the dark cockpit of their Standard Franxx. The basic model that all pilots, Pistil and Stamen, would train , sortie, fight and die in. The simplest to operate and with the maximum ease of use.

And yet, they were unable to even boot up the OS. The only thing that worked was the indicator that the Franxx was powered up with magma fuel. Which the full red bar glowed in the dark cockpit as though it was mocking her.

Mocking her failures.

"Please..! One more try! I promise it will-"

"Code 015. This is the 7th activation attempt. It's been over 90 minutes. Please leave the cockpit and head to the briefing room."

"Hiro..! Do something!"

Hiro's eyes were blank and unseeing. As if he was a puppet with it's strings cut. He barely had a grip on the handles of her Pistil suit.

"Uwah... you would expect better from the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group."

Miku cringed at the embarrassing performance by those she assumed were the cream of the crop of the Ground Forces. The elites of the elites that everyone from Garden looked up too, even the double digits looked up to them. And to make things worse, it wasn't just a member of the Aggressor squadron, but the Flight Leader himself and his Pistil second in command. Which made Miku cringe even more when she thought about it.

"Man... and I was SO hyped when I heard the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group were being attached to our Plantation. I even had my notepad ready to write down everything they said and learn from the best of the best. It seems in the end, they were all just marketing by APE, huh? Guess they should have hired me instead for their trainer squadron." Zorome sneered.

Ichigo couldn't bring herself to look any of the pilots observing the test in the eyes when she exited the cockpit of the Standard Franxx. Hiro was still slumped in his Stamen seat and remained unresponsive to her calls. Without any other choice, she grabbed Hiro by the wrist and started dragging him to the briefing room to meet the administrator and strategic officer of the Plantation.

All the while, the glint that reflected off the 3D printed emblem of the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group on her Pistil suit's left shoulder mocked her every step of the way.

Her wings felt heavier than ever before.

* * *

"How embarrassing. Please tell me this is a gigantic joke set up by the doctor."

Nana shook her head when they arrived at the Plantation's briefing room. Ichigo scowled at her, but even she agreed deep down that what just happened was a complete unmitigated disaster.

Hachi, straight shooter as always, spoke normally as if there was no tension in the air or hurt pilot feelings.

"From the data we managed to analyze from the failed connection tests, we've determined that the problem lies with Code 016. His Yellow Blood Counts are at an all time low. His body just seems to be unable to produce the required YBC to even boot up a mass production machine. On the other hand, Code 015 YBC count is at the usual levels, so she would have no issue continuing her Pistil duties. She merely requires a working Stamen."

"Don't call Hiro a problem!"

"But he is a problem, in his current state, it would be impossible for him to continue piloting."

"...!"

Ichigo's voice caught in her throat as she struggled to find any way to refute Hachi's statement.

Hachi then pushed on with an outrageous suggestion.

"However, we cannot let news spread that the Aggressor Flight Leader is unable to pilot a Franxx. The morale of the Ground Forces, not to mention their trust in Papa, would be shattered. At the same time, we still have a functioning member of the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group right here with us in the form of Code 015. We merely need to find her a functional Stamen to continue the charade where the Ground Forces can maintain their trust in the STFG."

"Charade...? Are you serious? Hachi, are you even listening to yourself?"

Ichigo looked at Hachi like he had lost it. She looked around for support.

Nana refused to meet her gaze.

Hiro stared at his feet with his blank eyes that saw nothing.

"We have a double digit Stamen in our Plantation squad who has a Pistil struggling to keep up with him. Code 056."

"Goro..!?"

Ichigo exclaimed. Hachi continued as if he wasn't interrupted in the first place.

"Yes, all we need to do is to replace Code 056's Pistil with Code 015 and the combat capabilities of Plantation 13's squad would increase significantly. Not to mention the morale boost of having an active duty Aggressor engaged in combat. We can shift Code 703 to be Code 016's Pistil. If all we need to get back into this is to just get Code 016 activating any form of Franxx again, then Code 703, as uninspiring as her performance might be, would be good enough to just merely be a Pistil for activation tests. Meanwhile, we'll keep Code 016 in Plantation 13 as to avoid spreading the news of today's failure by the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group's Flight Leader."

With cold, ruthless logic, Hachi proposed a solution that would cut out the dead weight and push the successes forward. It was an cold, calculating and almost mechanical way of looking at things. If one assumed the parasites were nothing more than an number or expendable resource. It was logical.

Hachi had basically already filed both Hiro and Naomi under the _failure_ section of his filing cabinet.

Ichigo looked at Hiro for a response. They were going to be seperated! Did he not care at all?

"Hiro...! Hiro...! Hey..! Don't let them do this... Hiro! Say something!"

With her final plea, Hiro answered, but not in the way she would have hoped.

"It's fine."

 _And her dream turned into a nightmare._

* * *

The ringing of the bell that signaled the arrival of the transport pod broke Hiro out from his reminiscence.

He looked at the clock. 25 minutes had passed without a single word exchanged between him and Naomi.

Just as he was thinking how strange it would be to see a person off for the final time without a single word being exchanged. Hiro heard a line whispered in the breeze that made him freeze.

"I hate you, you know."

His neck snapped towards Naomi. His eyes wide. Did she really just say that? Was he dreaming? Did he mistake it for something else?

Whatever chance of it being a mistake evaporated as Naomi resolutely met his gaze with a glare worthy of hell.

"Why...?"

Hiro, stunned as he was by the suddenness of such a situation, could barely form a coherent question.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE SO FUCKING SELFISH!"

Hiro froze. This wasn't what he expected. His entire world seemed about to break apart.

"You know, when I found out I was to be paired with the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group's Flight Leader after he failed to active a Standard Franxx with his Aggressor Pistil, do you think I was happy or excited?"

"I-"

"NO! It felt like the entire world came crashing down on me!"

All Hiro could do was stay rooted with his traitorous feet refusing to let him run away and listen to Naomi unleash her true feelings.

"Do you even realize who you are? I thought I had it bad when I was paired with a double digit elite like Goro and was forced to realize that I was holding him back. Then you came along, you. You, who was another double digit elite, nay, you were more than that. You were the fucking Flight Leader of the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group. The pinnacle of APE's Ground Forces, the absolute best of the best. Paired with me. ME! A triple digit NOBODY. How was a triple digit piece of trash like me supposed to succeed where Code 015 failed?"

"Don't bring Ichigo into-"

"Screw her! Not everyone is like that blue-haired bitch you know? Not everyone acts like her where the entire universe revolves around you! You were so self centered to think that everyone would act like Ichigo and have their lives revolve around you. I wasn't excited to be your partner. In fact I hated it. I hated the fact that it felt like I was left to drown in a ditch without even giving me the courtesy of a life jacket. I had to endure endless scorn and ridicule from others who put me down for holding back the Flight Leader of the STFG. I had to bear it and listen to how I was so fucking useless that not even a Stamen of your caliber could carry my dead weight load into activating a Franxx. I even had people suggest that I become a caretaker at Garden instead of a Pistil because I was so useless."

The tide was unleashed. There was no stopping Naomi now. She had come too far. The emotions she had bottled for the past 12 months came crashing out in a tidal wave.

"When YOU were the problem instead! At least with Goro, I could at least activate my Franxx. But to keep up looks for the rest of the Ground Forces, they made me the scapegoat for your failures!"

"Naomi-"

"I'M NOT DONE YET! But oh, you want to know what truly made me hate you? What reallllly pushed it over the edge?"

In a shivering voice full of fear, Hiro death marched to his execution.

"What?"

"You never apologized to me. Not even once. You were so stuck in your petty angst and self pity, that you couldn't suppress your giant ego for one second to realize, there were other people than you suffering as well."

Hiro was stunned speechless at her tirade.

The door of the transport pod slid open and as Naomi stepped inside the transport pod and turned to face him, she flashed the brightest, emptiest smile Hiro had ever seen from another person.

Delivering her next line with a chilling malice.

"I hope I never see you again, Hiro."

A malicious God in a broken world granted her wish.

That was the last thing Naomi would ever find herself saying.

As Hiro's body lifted in the air from the force of the blast emitting from the exploding transport pod, he wondered how had everything in his life turned out to be so messed up.

While he laid on his back, slightly bleeding from the shrapnel wounds that had managed to pierce his skin and uniform, Hiro heard a wet _thump_ land near him as he turned his head to the source of the sound.

A severed hand with part of the white bone jutting out at the wrist had landed right beside his head.

It was still gripping the handle of Naomi's luggage.

In the distance, the alarm that signaled an Klaxosaur attack blared.


	4. Chapter 4

Ichigo was moving as fast as she could. She had to, she was running late after all. However, the heels of her pistil suit weren't really designed for running so she was forced to slow down to maintain her balance. Cursing at whoever designed the heels, she mentally apologized to Goro as she rushed to Garage #2.

She could still hear the reverberations that came from a loud microphone which gave her hope. As long as Papa was fond of his long drawn out speeches, he was indirectly helping Ichigo make it to the start-up ritual in time.

While she thanked Papa for many things throughout the day as standard parasite prayers during mealtimes, here she was doing a personal made up on-the-spot prayer regarding how Papa loved the sound of his own voice.

 _May his voice never tire._

She really should have been more careful with the time while she was having her conversation with Hiro about skipping the graduation parade. But as always, whenever Hiro got involved, Ichigo found herself unable to think rationally and simply desired to spend more time with the black haired boy.

Turning around the corner that led to the Plantation garages, she prayed with all her heart that she would make it in time before the launch of the start-up ritual. Calculating the remaining distance in her mind, she breathed a sigh of relief as it seemed like she would make it on time after all.

* * *

"Wow, this is too much, even for an elite like her. First by skipping the parade and making Goro look awkward standing there alone. Now she's nowhere to be found when we're right about to begin the start-up ritual."

Miku grumbled her complains while giving Goro a look of pity like he was a guy being stood up on his first date.

"At this point I'm just starting to feel bad for Goro for being stuck with a pistil like her. If it weren't for Delphinium, you would think she was Hiro's pistil instead."

Goro tried to settle Miku down with a wave of his hands.

"I'm sure she has a good reason for that, we can trust Ichigo. She's not a bad person."

But Goro felt like he was the only man bucketing water off a sinking ship when it came to easing the rift that currently existed between the double digits and the triple digits within the team.

To be fair, it wasn't all of them that caused conflict in the squad. Futoshi, Kokoro, Ikuno and Miku didn't get involved in the anti-elite echo chamber that Zorome and Mitsuru constantly bounced off each other. For some reason, Zorome in particular saw him as a fellow comrade , merely just placed in the wrong rank.

To this day, Goro wasn't sure if that was a compliment to his personality or an insult to his skills as a stamen. He just rolled his eyes and tried not to think too hard about it. He just chalked it up to Zorome Logic™.

"I bet the reason is called 'Hiro' as usual. Really, she should remember sometimes that she's still our team leader. She should be overseeing us all equally without favoritism."

Well OK, maybe Miku liked to grumble a little too much, but at least it was pretty obvious that she never meant any of it.

Unlike Zorome.

It also helped that she was far nicer and less caustic to get along with as compared to her stamen partner.

"Ichigo and neutrality? She might as well implement one rule book for Hiro and another for us mere mortals."

Annnd that was why no one really liked Mitsuru as well. Well, maybe except Futoshi. But he would get along with anyone in the world if he was provided bread as a reward for doing so. So Futoshi didn't count.

"Hey everyone, lets just stop, its a day of celebration! Let's all just have fun while we can, there's also plenty of sweet wine at the after party."

Maybe it was because of his good-natured personality, but not many could argue against Goro when he went into full "Team Dad" mode. Even Mitsuru made a noise and looked away without saying anything.

The loud clacking of heels on the hanger walkway announced her arrival. Goro turned his head to welcome his pistil who was closing the distance rapidly to Delphinium's cockpit where he was currently seated in the stamen's chair.

"I'm so sorry for being late! Goro, I'll be right there!"

Ichigo's voice panted out from the exertion of forcing so much physical activity on her body in such a short time span. Beads of sweat were already forming under her blue bangs. She hoped Goro wouldn't mind if his pistil was a little sweaty during the start-up rituals. She was still a girl after all, and she got self conscious about such things.

"Oh~? Our illustrious leader finally decides to come join the rest of us mere peasants. Truly, we're humbled by your presence. Say, how did your fan girl meeting go? Did you manage to get his autograph?"

Zorome's mocking voice heaps scorn on the new arrival.

' _You're not better than any of us. I'll show everyone what a theater the entire STFG is.'_

Was the single overriding motive that filled Zorome ever since his Plantation had welcomed the new additions to it's Franxx garrison squad.

It was classic crab in a bucket mentality. When Goro was the solo double digit parasite in their squad, he was but one pilot in a full Franxx squad made of ordinary parasites with triple digit codes. It was thus easier to look up to Goro, with his easy going nature, natural friendliness and down to earth personality along with his double digit piloting competency as an ideal for everyone to strive towards. Goro thus became something of a big brother to everyone and Zorome soon became fast friends with him.

But then the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group joined as well. Now, nearly one-quarter of their roster consisted of either double digits or the super elite Aggressors. Jealousy and resentment began to build within his chest. His green-eyed monster hidden deep within him whispered toxic thoughts to his heart where he realized from now on, no more credit will ever be passed on to the regular parasites of Plantation 13 Franxx squad. Every success would be accredited to the skill and competence of the elites. While every failure would be blamed on the triple digits who held them back.

And then the infamous activation incident occurred.

He saw with his own eyes how the cream of the crop of APE's regular Ground Forces failed to even boot up a mere mass production Franxx. His heart raged at the lies and false promises he now bore witness too. He recalled the legendary emblem the STFG carried. A pair of Valkyrie wings and a dagger splitting it down the middle. Who didn't have their breath taken away when they realized the parasite they were interacting with was carrying the legendary shoulder patch of the Aggressors? Was there even a single soul in the ground forces who didn't recognize it?

Even their own training manuals during the boring theoretical lectures that all parasites were forced to attend as part of their training process bore the symbol of the STFG.

Thus, the theory that the entire thing was a sham squadron that Papa merely used as a showpiece to boost morale and provide an ideal for the grunts like him in the regular ground forces to look up to was formed. From that day on, Zorome's nose would scrunch in disgust whenever he saw the wings and dagger carried on the shoulders of both of them. He had lost all possible respect for the sham squadron. And he didn't hide it.

As the cockpit door of Delphinium hissed shut, Zorome threw one last glare at the Franxx that contained only double digits like it was mocking him before Argentea's cockpit slammed shut as well.

That was when the voice of Papa which he idolized so dearly came alive on the comms and turned his attention elsewhere.

"Chosen ones! Guardians of Humanity! We will now begin the start-up ritual. With this, you kids will finally become official Parasites!"

Pride welled in Zorome's heart. He tapped Miku's shoulder to get her attention then grinned at her. She gave him the cheesiest of grins as well. Finally, all their hard work would be rewarded.

The rapid booms of firing munitions and the explosion that rocked the Garage felt like a bucket of iced water was dumped over Zorome's ambitions.

He looked towards the sound of tearing steel and noticed a giant blue eye glaring at all of the assembled Franxx in the Garage.

And it looked pissed.

* * *

"Damage Report!"

"Fire in Section 27! All automated turrets on the west side of the Plantation are destroyed!"

"How did we not notice it until it was right on top of us...?"

Hachi pondered as he looked at the floating 3D hologram of the Plantation displayed in the center of the briefing room. It had parts of it flickering red to signify the damaged sectors.

"They used the fog to fool our radar. Seems like they are getting smarter."

Doctor Franxx mused about this as another explosion rocked the Plantation and caused the entire briefing room to rattle. Papers were dropped from their terminals and coffee splashed out of their mugs.

"Find out where the Klaxosaur is. Can we get a visual on it?"

Hachi asked Nana who was operating the console that controlled the heads up display of the briefing room.

"Found it, the Klaxosaur just hit Garage #2. Displaying on the main feed now."

The gigantic main display of the briefing room showed a large black-blue craggy mass that was shaped like a quadruped dinosaur from the ancient days ramming its armored head into the reinforced walls of the garage.

"Ohhhhh... Is that a moho-class? It's big, strong and has a fine look. Amazing!"

"DOCTOR! Now isn't the time for casual commentary!"

Nana groaned. She couldn't believe the eccentricities of APE's top scientist sometimes. Her eye then caught a strange reading on the Plantation sensors.

"There's a unit moving to intercept! It's not registered on our roster! IFF marks it as a friendly!"

Hachi questioned Nana's update as the fast moving blip on the radar display moved to contact with the assaulting Klaxosaur.

"What...is that unit? It's not a Franxx..."

Hachi murmured.

"It's her then. What a savage look. Has she consumed her stamen again?"

Werner Franxx shot a slight look of disgust at the steel white wolf with red stripes running across it's body as it was brought up on the main screen.

* * *

Inside Delphinium, Ichigo gasped as she saw the glaring blue-black eye move away from the hole in the garage. The entire squad were still bolted to their launch bays and their Franxx weren't released from their clamps yet.

 _This is bad! That's a Moho-class! They weren't ready for that level of opponent yet! Not to mention we're all trapped here like animals in a pen waiting to be slaughtered. We need to do something!_

Ichigo felt as if she was locked up in chains, awaiting her execution.

She cynically realized that the safety clamps that held the Franxx secured and upright in their garages were to be their doom.

 _So much for "safety"._

Then the glaring blue-black eye was replaced with a gaping maw that started to glow with an eerie light that was increasing in intensity.

 _We need to get out of the line of fire!_

She looked back at Goro who seemed to have frozen in place from the sheer fright at the unexpected situation he was thrust in.

 _We can't die here, not yet!_

"Goro! We need to get moving! Break the clamps off Delphinium!"

Goro's wide eyes kept staring at the glowing light that was about to spill out from the gaping maw of the Moho-Class. His body frozen in place as if he was watching the blade of a guillotine fall in slow motion onto his neck. He didn't move an inch nor utter a sound.

It was not his fault he reacted that way. It was his first encounter with a Klaxosaur after all.

Even trained soldiers froze up in their first firefight back in the old world. Experiencing a true life or death situation left even the most well drilled trooper nervous at best. Goro was merely a cadet that had just graduated from his pilot school.

And it was about to kill all of them while he was locked inside an immobile coffin of steel and iron. It was to no surprise then that Goro mentally broke down in the face of an overpowering foe. The other members of his squad were frozen in fear just like him.

Ichigo recognized what was happening and despaired even though she was not surprised by Goro's reaction in the least.

 _To have his first contact be with a Moho-Class about to destroy him while being clamped down in an immobile coffin of steel. It would break anyone._

But she still had to try. The only other option was death.

"GORO! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THE KILLZONE! WE NEED TO MOVE TO OPEN GROUND!"

Ichigo screamed out at her stamen in an attempt to snap him out of his funk.

It was no use, he and the other 4 Franxx in the garage had the same seizure of fear that ran across them. The toxic black hand of fear had gripped all of their hearts and forced them into inaction.

The glowing light in the Klaxosaur's mouth seemed to peak in intensity. Ichigo saw the air shimmer and shift around its maw from the heat it was outputting, she knew that was the telltale sign that the Moho-Class just reached the maximum charge for its upcoming attack.

Of course she knew.

It was her job to study how to beat the Klaxosaurs, after all. That was why she possessed the privilege of carrying wings on her shoulders, as compared to her other pilots.

That was the reason she bore the title of an Aggressor.

Ichigo felt a stab of fear pierce her heart and averted her gaze from the main cameras on Delphinium's display.

 _It's over._

"Hiro..."

She shut her eyes and prayed.

The tunnel of light never came. It seemed it wasn't her time to die just yet.

A loud impact pushed the Klaxosaur off the Plantation's walls. Ichigo opened her eyes and looked at their supposed savior. She was preparing to say a prayer in gratitude when her voice caught in her throat the moment she caught sight on the unit that had saved her life.

During her entire time spent in the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group, one of her main roles was to study on the technical aspects of every single Franxx in APE's arsenal in order to search for ways to fine tune them for better performance or handling. It was with a chill running through her spine that she realized she did not recognize the unit that saved her life.

That meant it wasn't even officially registered in the APE document archives.

That meant APE was hiding something from even their top pilot squadron.

Because Franxx were supposed to be humanoid shaped.

What saved their lives was shaped like a beast.

"That's not even a Franxx..."

Ichigo muttered to herself.

* * *

"So you're my new stamen huh?"

"...Yeah."

"I guess we're alike then."

"What do you mean?"

"We're both rejects."

"...Ah."

"But lets make the best out of a bad situation, I'm sure we can figure something out and start climbing our way out of the trenches."

"...We can try."

"Lets shake on it then. Partners?"

"Partners."

He shook her hand. He noticed it felt warm.

The hand he was holding felt exactly the same as he remembered it.

That was because it was the exact same hand from the exact same person. Only that it was severed at the wrist, with a chunk of white bone protruding out the flesh. The pure whiteness of the bone contrasting against the red meat that hung around it made for a disgustingly compelling sight that Hiro couldn't tear his eyes away from.

"Naomi..."

Hiro murmured deliriously as he cradled the severed hand close to his chest.

"That's no good you know... You aren't supposed to leave your belongings behind... It just causes trouble to the caretakers who have to clean up after you."

The sane part of Hiro's mind was currently buried under the ringing of his ears and the dull reddish mist of blood that permeated the air around the wrecked departure terminal.

"Don't worry... I'll hold on to it for you. So that I can return it to you the next time I see you. Strange... Why won't it fit into my pockets?"

Hiro frowned as he tried to fit the severed hand into his uniform pockets but couldn't seem to squeeze it in.

"Your hands are bigger than I expected, Naomi."

He murmured.

He looked towards the distance and squinted.

 _Strange, were birds supposed to move that fast? And why were they getting bigger?_

He cocked his head as a giant mass crashed into the transport hub. The force of the impact sent his body floating through the air once more, where he lost his grip on the hand he was currently holding.

He watched as the severed hand flew ever further away from him.

"...Ah."

He let out a sound as he watched the last remnants of Naomi disintegrate in the flaming wreckage of the departure terminal.

The impact of his back hitting the hard pavement provided the necessary shock required to jerk Hiro awake from his daze.

Immediately, his eyes lit up as he realized the situation he was in. With rationality and full control of his mental processes coming back, the downsides of being sane once more quickly made itself known.

"Tsssk...! Oh that hurts..."

Hiro winced as he gingerly touched the back of his head and felt a sticky wet feeling.

Drawing his fingers back to check on them, he noticed a small amount of dark red blood staining his fingers. Not a large quantity by any means, nor was it enough to freak him out, but he noted that he had a cut on the back of his head that had started to burn.

He looked at the steel giant that landed beside him. It was colored white with sub colors of red streaked all over it's chassis. Hiro did not recognize such a design. In the first place, it wasn't even humanoid. It looked like a wolf of steel and blood.

He certainly never remembered seeing anything like it in the APE archives they had back at the STFG base.

 _Is it even a Franxx? Who's piloting it?_

A hissing sound cut off his racing train of thoughts. What seemed like a cockpit near the head of the steel wolf was depressurizing itself and venting out hot air as a door opened.

Another familiar wet _thump_ sounded on the ruined pavement close to his feet.

 _I'm getting too used to that sound._

He looked down at the bloody and broken body at his feet and gasped.

It was the crippled stamen he met at the lake! Except his chest wasn't even rising anymore. He was dead. Being in such close proximity to a still warm corpse gave Hiro a churning unease in his belly. The butterflies of fear were starting to flutter in his stomach.

 _He's dead._

"Forget about him. He's done for."

The pink haired girl he met at the lake earlier spoke as she rested against the cockpit door of Strelizia for support. It seemed she didn't escape unharmed as well. There was a streak of blood running down the left side of her face, although Hiro noted it barely did anything to diminish her beauty.

If anything, it gave her a feral look that suited her.

 _Wait a minute..._

She was piloting it.

She was wearing a red pistil suit.

 _That meant she was a pistil._

He looked at the horns on her head.

 _The red horns that shone alluringly in the setting sun._

He tore his eyes away from the lovely sight and put them on the corpse of the sliver haired corpse of a stamen lying at his feet.

 _He was dead. He died piloting with her._

Red horns and a dead stamen.

He too had heard about the rumors during his time in the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group.

"...Partner Killer."

If anything, the churning in his belly became a body-wide tension that made all his muscle groups tighten as he put together the pieces of just who he was dealing with.

Zero Two's entire body jerked upright as she heard the words leave her darling's lips, her eyes widening at the curse he uttered towards her.

What.

How.

 _He knew._

 _Darling knew._

She felt her eyes water as tears threatened to leak out of them, the stinging sensation adding to the torrent of emotions surging forth within her.

 _This wasn't how I wanted him to remember me as._

A bestial roar in the distance brought Zero Two back to reality. The Moho-class was coming back for seconds, it seemed.

 _At the very least, I will protect my darling. If nothing else._

She blinked her tears away and started to stumble back into the cockpit of Strelizia that she now wished would serve as her steel coffin.

A warm grip on her wrist stopping her from proceeding further inside, his sharp green-blue orbs, the ones which she found herself lost in it's beauty, shone at her as he spoke.

"Are you going to pilot that thing alone?" He asked.

She tried to shake him off but his grip on her wrist never wavered.

 _Hold my hand, and never let go._

 _Darling is right here but..._

 _I'm nothing more than the Partner Killer in his eyes._

A sorrowful look filled her face as she shook her head.

"I gotta go."

"You're injured and hurt. There's no way you can beat him. The odds are against you!" He pointed out.

"I'm used to it."

Her bitter reply betrayed her current feelings, of her wish that she could be buried in a steel coffin, under a trampling mob of klaxosaurs.

The grip on her wrist tightened, as his hard voice refuted her.

"This is insanity."

"In this crazy world, I can't tell the difference anymore."

Turning her face to lock gazes with him, her clear turquoise orbs pierced his green-blue eyes.

For a fleeting moment that seemed to last an eternity. They remained in silence, eyes locked onto the other's.

Expressing feelings that would have took hours of conversation to come to the same understanding.

With a deep inhale, Hiro made his decision.

He released his grip on her wrist.

 _Enough is enough. I would rather burn out with the flame of my life than to slowly die a meek, whimpering death._

Blinking twice, Hiro nodded.

"Then I'm coming with you."

Her heart was hammering in her chest against her ribcage at his acceptance, Zero Two stumbled back into the cockpit of Strelizia until she tripped and landed onto the Stamen's seat. Her vision found itself tunneling on the raven-haired boy in front of her.

A slight ringing noise started to form in her ears as her mind struggled to keep up with her surging feelings.

Darling wanted to be with her? Even though he knew about her reputation? Darling would risk his life to be with her?

With a pitched breath, Zero Two shook her head, her voice steadily rising as she did so.

"Why would you go that far? You said it yourself, I'm the Partner Killer. You'll be risking your life if you piloted with me."

 _Please don't reject me._

 _Please don't look at me like how everyone else does._

 _Please be mine once more._

The clarity in his eyes never faltered as he spoke the words which served as her salvation.

"Because I think it's too sad if one has to be insane alone."

This was it. Her entire life was spent leading up to this moment.

 _Darling was going to be her partner_

Zero Two sucked in a breath as she mentally prepared herself for the next step.

Rising from the stamen chair she was resting on, Zero Two spread her arms open invitingly towards Hiro, welcoming him into Strelizia.

With a quick shifting of his cheeks, Hiro noted to himself-

The gesture evoked an image of a harlot urging someone into their bedchambers.

As the Partner Killer beckoned him to plunge into the darkness with her, a line left her lips in a sultry tone,

"Come then, both your steed and your princess awaits you."

Hiro nodded as he proceeded to enter the cockpit of Strelizia and approached the pink haired girl in the red pistil suit.

 _Said the spider, to the fly._

He grimly noted.

His feet didn't stop when he crossed the border marking her private territory as he ventured deeper into the darkness just so he could put himself into her embrace. Her arms encased him into her trembling warmth. The musky scent of sweat and the heady tang of blood mixed into a haze that addled his mind. Easing his body, Hiro surrendered himself to be taken by the Femme Fatale.

She was taller than him, so she put her arms around his neck lovingly and pressed down on him so he would arc his back slightly.

He felt the bump of her horns, the _alluring red horns_ that always stole his gaze whenever he set his eyes on her, press onto his forehead.

Her gaze was hungry and affectionate. To Hiro, he felt like she was literally devouring him with her sight alone.

Her touch was so soft and her feelings were so openly on display that even Hiro himself felt like he was melting in her embrace and returning her feelings. His eyes betrayed the anticipation and nervousness he was feeling at the moment.

 _And Zero Two found it so attractive_

Her lips parted slightly.

Hiro found himself mirroring her action.

As she moved in to finish the fairy tale in that picture book, he closed his eyes and waited.

 _Mother used to say,_

It was warm and wet in all the right places. The sparks flew as Hiro felt the flame of his life force surge. This was his comeback. The bright rays of sunshine blew apart the storm of black clouds that seemed to have clung to him for far too long.

He reclaimed his destiny.

He recalled his purpose.

He found himself remembering just who he was.

He was the ace pilot of APE's entire Ground Forces that countless parasites looked up to and admired. Rowdy, noisy rooms would hush the moment he entered them. Once packed corridors would part in reverence as he strode down Garden's hallways. Pistils would exhale watery sighs as they gave longing looks from a distance whenever he found himself returning to Garden to file his latest reports. Caretakers would sound nervous whenever they interacted with him, as if they were afraid of offending him.

Eyes would be drawn to the wings he carried on his shoulders whenever he conversed with someone. No, not carried.

 _The wings that he had earned._

And now here he was, in the embrace of the infamous Partner Killer. It was truly a sight to behold.

 _"You are so special."_

If this was how his candle of life was going to burn out, then so be it.

If it was said that stars shone the brightest right before dying, then so be it.

If he had to give her every drop of blood he had until she sucked him dry, then so be it.

He would go out with a bang, not a whimper.

Hiro pressed his lips forward as Zero Two moaned into the kiss and surged forward to match him in intensity. Her needy and frantic grip locking him in place and allowing him no escape from their shared embrace. The tensing of her body and high pitched whimpering noises broadcasting her joy at his reciprocation.

 _"No one will shine as bright, my dear."_

And the contract was made.

Between the widow and her mate.

 **[Strelizia - Activated]**


	5. Chapter 5

The sounds of panting filled Strelizia's cockpit. For the longest time, there was no conversation exchanged between them, as they both struggled to fill their lungs with air and relax after such an intense physical activity.

However the feeling of exhaustion was the only common factor their bodies currently shared.

Zero Two shivered in pleasure as her body greedily enjoyed the feeling of piloting with her darling. He rode her really hard during their first time and she wouldn't have liked it any other way. Her muscles were sore in all the good ways as she inhaled the air inside of Strelizia's cockpit. She shivered in pleasure once more as she realized it carried darling's scent intermingled with her own. Subconsciously, Zero Two started to shift her hips without realizing it as her primal instincts made her body attempt to seduce her mate.

 _That was amazing. She never wanted to pilot with anyone else ever again._

Contrasting to the Pistil shivering from the pleasurable sensations she was experiencing, Hiro however, shivered for another reason.

It was taking every ounce of control from him to not cry out from the sheer pain that racked his body.

Pilots wore suits for a reason. It compressed wounds, administered painkillers and most importantly, it carried a layer of kinetic foam that cushioned against the G-forces that pilots experienced during high intensity maneuvers. It was for that reason no Franxx pilot, stamen or pistil, was ever allowed to board one without a piloting suit as an APE safety regulation.

Hiro basically had just broken every safety regulation in the APE rule book in one piloting session.

He had just taken down a Moho-Class Klaxasour with APE's highest performing Franxx without possessing a stamen suit to assist him with Strelizia's handling. Even for someone with his experience piloting a Franxx, when combined with the previous wounds from the explosions which tossed his body around like a rag doll, it truly pushed his body to it's limits.

But that wasn't what worried him. He clinically knew that it was to be expected when he grasped the handles on her pistil suit in his regular uniform. He had already gritted his teeth and knew this was going to suck.

That wasn't the issue at all.

What worried him was the sharp stabbing pain in his heart while his heart pumped itself so furiously he was afraid it would burst like a overfilled balloon. THAT wasn't supposed to happen when you were piloting a Franxx.

So the only reason that he could think of that caused his heart to stab itself repeatedly under his rib cage was the current bond between him and the infamous Partner Killer.

 _That was awful. He never wanted to pilot with her ever again._

He broke the silence first.

"Is it over? Code 002."

"Mmmnm, it's over. And don't call me that. You called me something else right before we pierced it's core didn't you?"

She disengaged herself from the pistil terminal, turned around and knelt in front of him as she spoke. She laid her hands onto his as Hiro's consciousness started to slip from the combination of exhaustion and wounds. He tried his best to focus on the horned girl in front of him as he slurred out his final words before the darkness claimed him.

"I'm sorry... Guess we finished it off huh?... Zero...Two..."

And with that, the darkness finally claimed Hiro into a blissful sleep that he sorely needed. In just a short while, he was even giving out soft snoozing noises that Zero Two found absolutely adorable.

So adorable that she wanted to just jump him and claim him right now. But she didn't want to push darling's body anymore right now, considering what he had just been through. She giggled as she reached out to stroke his cheek gently while her sultry voice praised her darling.

"You sure did. You were _incredible_ , darling."

If Hiro was still awake, he would have noticed that the smile on her face looked incredibly seductive.

* * *

Outside Strelizia, a crowd was beginning to form. Some were Plantation medical staff that stood by ready to assist the pilots as soon as they exited. Others were fellow squad mates that gazed in awe at the new arrival and it's flashy performance. Ichigo stood beside her previous commanding officer as she bombarded him with questions.

"What is that Franxx? I've never seen it before. It's color scheme is like those from the Strelizia series but it's so much more detailed and engineered!"

She noted how the new Franxx had facial features like eyes and a mouth that were conventionally attractive. The Mass Production Strelizias , or 9-Model as it was called, since it was what APE's Special Forces squad The Nines used. They were much more industrial in design and were obviously much lower in raw specifications when she saw the additional boosters it carried on its waist, the unreal agility it possessed and the large magma lance that it carried.

"Also did it just transform from a beast form into a humanoid one? How does it do that? Does it have a variable frame? Isn't that too expensive to implement and costly to maintain as well? How would the pilots even cope with handing a form that's so much different than a human?"

She felt the questions leave her throat one after another in rapid fire as she didn't even stop to pause between each question. Werner, for his credit, merely let Ichigo run out of steam as he allowed the questions to crash against him like waves against a rock.

Finally, Ichigo stopped to pant for breath as Werner raised an amused eyebrow at her and told her to look at the chest piece of Strelizia for the model number that all Franxx had inscribed on their right breastplate.

Ichigo's eyes widened when she saw the red inscription.

FRX-01.

The ones she operated with Hiro during her time at the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group had the model number FRX-01M.

M standing for Mass Production.

She wasn't totally off the mark, it was a Strelizia alright, just not the Strelizia she knew or piloted.

"It's a Strelizia."

She glanced over to the doctor standing beside her.

"Not a Strelizia. _The_ Strelizia."

Ichigo gasped, that meant...

"It's the prototype? It's the original model that started the entire series?"

"Correct. The form you saw was but a beast. When the negative and positive- male and female factors combine, and their hearts become one, the iron maiden will reveal her true form. Now _this_ is a Franxx! How truly beautiful! How amazing! You're the best, Strelizia!"

"But who's piloting it?"

Nana asked the question that was in everyone's minds.

 _Probably someone from The Nines, considering how high performance the specs was._

Ichigo thought to herself.

Finally, the chattering of the crowd surrounding them stopped as the telltale hissing sound of a Franxx's cockpit door opening filled the air. Everyone on the scene craned their necks as much as possible to get a look at the pilots of the Franxx that had just blown away a Moho-Class in one hit.

Ichigo's blood froze when she saw them.

It wasn't because the pistil had red horns on her head that deemed her as inhuman. Nor was it because she wore the red piloting suit that stated that she was from The Nines.

It was because of the black haired boy she cradled in her arms bridal style.

"Hiro?!"

Ichigo cried out in surprise as she took in the scene. Hiro was the stamen? Hiro could activate a Franxx once more? What was he even doing there?

 _And why was he in the arms of another girl?_

"What's he doing there?"

Zorome, always asking the obvious questions as usual.

"Wait, there's someone else."

"Are those...horns?"

Ichigo shivered in fear and disgust.

Because she was...

"You mean that Pistil is the one?"

Futoshi asked nervously. Even he had heard of the rumors that she was bad news. That one should stay away from her if they valued their lives.

"The Partner Killer."

Ichigo spat bitterly.

...The Partner Killer. And she was nuzzling her cheek against Hiro's like he meant the world to her.

Ichigo felt sick to her stomach.

"Let me introduce you."

Nana stepped forward and spoke. Everyone's head turned to face her as they awaited to learn the true identity of the infamous Partner Killer. Finally, the rumors would be confirmed, they wouldn't need to say her name in harsh whispers whenever they discussed it during break time.

Except Ichigo. Whose glare never left the sight of the horned girl nuzzling her cheek against Hiro's as she carried him bridal style.

"This is Code 002, a Pistil with the special forces unit APE directly controls. She's a girl that carries Klaxosaur blood."

As Zero Two cradled darling in her arms and snuggled his head tightly to her chest, she noticed a small cut on his right cheek. With the trickle of blood still flowing down her left cheek, she nuzzled against his wound. Hoping to heal it with her love and affection.

Neither of them noticed how her blood intermingled with his and ran into his open cut.

"You're mine now, my darling."

* * *

The act of bringing two pairs of lips together, which he had never heard of, was called a kiss, she said. That was how they sealed their contract in the darkness of Strelizia's cockpit.

Hiro touched his lips as he remembered how it felt.

 _I wouldn't mind doing it again._

The day after the Klaxosaur attack, the start-up ritual picked up where it had left off, but in much gloomier circumstances. Not only were Papa and the other adult's not around to witness it anymore, the events of Garage #2 hung in the minds of the Parasites of Plantation 13.

As Hiro watched the gathered Franxx of Plantation's 13 squad walk out to assemble in a line at the training yard, he never noticed how Delphinium's eyes flickered towards him and smiled.

* * *

"Meow Meow~ Are mew from around here?"

The black cat purred happily and rolled over to give Ichigo greater access to it's belly as she scratched it. Ichigo was more than happy to oblige and scratched it even more.

"Ichigo?"

Ichigo jerked at the sound of Hiro's voice, the sudden motion causing the cat to get spooked and dash off. She stood and faced Hiro while pretending everything was normal and she wasn't just caught talking to a cat. Ichigo already could feel the telltale heat start to flush against her cheeks.

 _That was so embarrassing!_

"You didn't have to wait out here for me."

Ichigo looked away to the side, trying to use the bangs of her hair to shadow her face and prevent Hiro from noticing her blush.

"It's your fault for running away early in the morning! Awkward as it is, you're still considered one of us."

She noticed the darkening look in Hiro's eyes and she moved closer to him in concern. She knew that haunted look in his eyes, she had seen it before.

"I was just paying my respects to Naomi."

 _So thats what it was._

"I heard about it. I wish she was still here with us."

She moved forward and tried to hug Hiro as a form of comfort, but Hiro moved past her and towards the Parasite Lodge before she could even lift her arms. Ignoring the stabbing sensation in her heart, she inhaled deeply as she asked the most important question towards him about yesterday's events.

"Were you the one piloting Strelizia?"

"Yeah. It was me."

Hiro already knew what she was going to say. But this was the only way forward for him. If he had to make a contract and sell his life away to pilot once more, he was more than willing to pay the price.

"Congratulations. You finally managed to pilot again. I was thinking about submitting a request to HQ in order for us to pilot together again like old times."

"Forget about it. If you do so, who will Goro pilot with?"

Ichigo's heart clenched at that rejection. Why was he being so cold towards her? Didn't he want to go back to the good times they had?

"So you're going to pilot with her again? That girl isn't part of our squad you know!"

"I don't care, as long as I get back on active duty."

"Then pilot with me instead! If it works out, you'll be reinstated to active duty as well! It'll be like how it used to be!"

Hiro closed his eyes. Sometimes he wished that Ichigo would be more rational when it came to him. Didn't she see that was exactly why the rest of the squad held a grudge against her?

"If we pilot together, who will Goro pilot with? Do you really want to push him to the bench and have him watch us from the sidelines?"

Hiro pointed out the cold truth, but Ichigo pressed on.

"You heard the rumors about her as well. None of her partners could ride with her more than three times. They didn't make it out alive. If you keep going with her, you're going to die!"

 _like that silver-haired stamen's broken corpse on the ground tossed away like garbage._

"We don't know if it's true or not, but I want you to stay away from her."

Her final appeal. She hoped it would work.

"I'll guess we'll find out."

With a firm voice, Hiro smashed her appeal to pieces. He started walking back into the Parasite Lodge when Goro came out of the front door, oblivious of what had just occurred between him and Ichigo.

"Hey, Hiro. Get inside quick. That girl's in our mess hall."

Hiro eyes lit up. She was here? He had so many things to ask of her! His pace quickened and he rushed to the mess hall along with Goro.

In his rush to get to the mess hall, he never noticed how Ichigo was watching the entire exchange with her fists clenched so hard that her nails drew blood.

* * *

"Urgh... Who eats like that!?"

Miku suppressed the urge to puke as she saw Zero Two douse her entire breakfast plate consisting of eggs, meat, fruit and bread in a thick layer of golden honey. Using her hands, she spread the honey all over her foods, making sure both sides were coated. Making a mess all over her hands, sleeves and uniform.

"I guess she just really like sweets?"

Kokoro interjected with a smile.

"She's not a person, not with her horns on her head."

Miku was about to continue when the voice of Ichigo sharply cut her off from any further comments. She was using her "Team Leader" voice that booked no argument.

"Cut it out. She's our saviour, you know."

Miku made a noise and looked away, but she refrained from making any further comments at the expense of Zero Two.

"Do you think it's really true about her having Klaxosaur blood? Besides, I thought nobody had single-digit codes."

Ikuno added her observations to the conversation while never taking her eyes off her book that she was reading at the girl's table.

Hiro felt annoyed at the lack of tact displayed by his squadmates, did they not realize she could hear them all? Their mess hall wasn't that large and they were hardly being quiet about it. He felt an elbow bump into his side from Goro who grinned at him.

"She's a looker but she's ruining it with the way's she's eating!"

Hiro chuckled at the good natured jab from his best friend until he realized something about her.

Her injuries from the previous battle had all been healed.

He stroked the small bandage on his right cheek as he wondered if her body was really human to heal that quickly. His train of thoughts were broken by a source of movement going towards Zero Two. His eye twitched when he heard the catcall. Zorome never hid the fact he liked to ogle at girls he found attractive.

"Hey there!"

Now to see how she would respond.

"It was a real treat to see you in action against that Klaxosaur." Zorome continued even as Zero Two ignored him in favour of making sure the corners of the bread she was holding didn't miss a spot of honey.

"I, Zorome the Great, shall graciously ride with you if you so desire. I'm sure I can do better than that washed up loser."

At the boy's table, Mitsuru tossed a smirk at his direction the moment he had heard Zorome refer to him as "washed up". However, Hiro had better things to do than to take part with this childishness. He continued to observe the current interaction between Zorome and Zero Two. He wanted to gleam as much information about this enigmatic Pistil, the fabled Partner Killer.

"So what say you and me... EEEEK!"

Apparently, Zero Two was currently using Zorome's shirt as an oversized napkin as she wiped all the honey that had gotten on her hands onto it.

"Ahhh stop! What do you think you're doing?!" Zorome yelled out. "Aw my sunday best! You ruined it!"

The rest of the room just rolled their eyes and ignored Zorome's antics. Hiro was about to turn away as well to return to his breakfast until he heard the scraping of a chair being pushed away.

Zero Two had gotten up from her seat with her plate of food in hand as she was making her way towards the boy's table.

Or more accurately, to him.

She unceremoniously sat on his lap without even asking for permission as she swung her legs around to the side so she could face him. She then put an arm around him and unashamedly leant into him to cuddle.

Hiro froze and kept his back as stiff as a board as he desperately tried to fix his eyes on the mess hall's door pretending this was all completely natural and nothing was out of order. Of course he was failing miserably as everyone in the mess hall was already looking at him, except Ichigo who seemed particularly interested in killing her bacon once more with her knife by the way she was slicing it.

 _I'm sorry bacon, you did nothing wrong._

Zero Two didn't seem to pay the newfound attention of her peers any mind as she broke apart a piece of bread and smeared some honey onto it as she offered it to him.

"This is really sweet and compliments the bread well. If you'll like, we can eat together from now on."

After a moment's hesitation, Hiro took a bite out of the bread in her hands as he said the first thing that came to his mind without thinking.

"I'm sorry Code 002, I didn't really catch your name during the rush of yesterday's battle."

The moment those words left his lips, and by the dangerous glint that had just appeared in her eyes, Hiro knew that he had just signed his own death warrant.

And Zero Two knew it too. With his eyes silently begging Zero Two to show mercy and spare him further embarrassment, Hiro desperately prayed to Papa himself for a chance to escape this situation with a modicum of his dignity intact.

However, it seemed Hiro was on Papa's waiting list when it came to his list of potential saviors.

Thus, as Zero Two leapt at the opening Hiro had left her, she pouted and delivered the killing blow in her huskiest voice that penetrated the silence of the mess hall.

"Awww, you don't remember? Yesterday, you were crying out my name while you rode me as hard as you could, _D_ _arling"_

"Da...Darling?"

The entire room repeated the word at once, except for Ichigo who was currently struggling to expel the water that had entered her from the wrong pipe.

"What's that mean?" Miku asked.

"I have no idea." Kokoro replied.

Hiro had thought he was unflappable. He prided himself on training it during his bout with depression after he had been released from active duty.

Well, he thought wrong.

His face felt hot as all the blood in his body seemed to rush into it at once. His vision seemed to blur from embarrassment as his mind seemed to be bogged down in some sort of hazy fog. While he couldn't deny the pleasurable sensations he felt when she stressed out that special word she always seemed to reserve for him, the presence of his fellow squad mates when she did such things made him terribly embarrassed.

Unfortunately for him, Zero Two wasn't done yet.

"Hey, I got some left on my finger. Do you mind?"

She offered her forefinger to him as it glistened in the light from the golden liquid that had gotten on to it.

With his brain experiencing failure from the lack of blood since it seemed to be concentrated in his cheeks, he nodded mutely and proceeded to suck the offered finger clean of honey. Zero Two beamed so hard it seemed even her eyes cheesed with her when she felt her finger enter the mouth of her darling.

The sounds of wood being impacted interrupted their shared moment.

The girl's table rattled as Ichigo slammed her palms down on the wooden surface. Silver cutlery lightly bounced up into the air.

"Hey! Stop making a scene and get back to your table! You're bothering others!"

Ichigo glared at the Pistil seated in Hiro's lap. But Zero Two wasn't an ordinary Pistil. She was a fighter. And she didn't go down without a fight.

Especially when it came to darling.

So Zero Two narrowed her eyes and prepared to defend her territory.

"The only bother I see here is you."

Ichigo sucked a breath through her teeth. This homewrecker! This intruder! How dare she!

"What did you say!?"

Just before the situation could escalate anymore than Hiro's poor heart could take, he was saved by the sound of the mess hall door opening to reveal his savior.

"Okay, keep it down, kids!"

"Nana!" Kokoro exclaimed.

Nana nodded at Kokoro and continued,

"I'll be your caretaker just like I was in Garden. APE has assigned me to Plantation 13. My name is Nana, I look forward to your cooperation."

"Yes! We got lucky!"

The entire room broke out into cheers and Zorome grinned at Nana's well developed figure which made Miku roll her eyes at the sight of it. Her stamen was just so crude that she wished he would be more delicate sometimes, she grumbled.

"Nana!" Ichigo called out.

"What is it, Ichigo?"

"Is that girl going to stay here?"

"We're still awaiting orders from HQ in regards to Zero Two. But in general, she won't be working with you guys. However, she will be garrisoned here till further notice."

Ichigo frowned at that statement.

"Now come, Zero Two, you're supposed to sit at this table."

"Ehhhh? But I wanted to eat with my darling..."

Zero Two complained as she hopped off Hiro's lap and made her way back to the girl's table.

Hiro stopped her before she completed the trip back to the girl's table. There was something important he needed to tell her.

"Wait a minute! Hey, Zero Two!"

She tilted her head back to look at him and grinned as she awaited him to continue. Hiro gathered up the courage within him and made his request.

"Let me ride in Strelizia again! I need to be reinstated to active duty!"

With a skip in her step, Zero Two was about to turn around and tell her darling that he could feel free to ride her anytime, until Nana cut in, her firm tone leaving no room for argument.

"That isn't for you to decide. It's up to APE HQ and Papa to assign you your orders. The same goes to the rest. Just sit tight until then." Nana and Zero Two proceeded to leave the mess hall after that.

"Hiro is going to get his orders directly from Papa?" Zorome sneered as he continued. "Again? Why does he always get preferential treatment?"

Closing his eyes as he performed a breathing exercise to calm himself, Hiro refused to take the obvious bait that Zorome was trying to lead him in. His day had just started and it already felt too long.

* * *

"You can't just keep running off as you please."

"I just wanted to enjoy a meal with my darling."

Zero Two tapped her foot as she rested against the wall of the elevator.

"Avoid contact with the Parasites. You're too much for them too handle."

Nana told her impatiently.

"He felt so good though."

Her coy smile was reflected on the glass windows of the elevator as she gazed towards the lifeless city outside, it's yellow lighting casting a dark shadow over her face.

At the sight of that, Nana shivered from the fear that rolled down her spine.


	6. Chapter 6

"We have a confirmed kill of a Mohorovicic-class at Plantation 13."

The council members sat upright in their seats. A Moho-class encountered so far away from the front? Had the Klaxosaurs managed to infiltrate units into their rear in an attempt to target their supply lines?

"Was the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group involved in it's suppression?"

They needed to know if their prized propaganda pieces were still unharmed.

"Positive. But not in the way you think. Strelizia was the unit that intercepted and neutralized it." Papa's eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Explain."

"The Stamen piloting Strelizia was Code 016."

Now that was interesting. And in a way morbidly hilarious. If Code 016 piloting abilities had returned only to be matched up with the hybrid specimen that drained the life of her partners...

Maybe Code 016 would have wished that he had remained on the inactive roster if he knew what he'd gotten himself into.

But still, they needed to confirm it's validity with a series of tests. If his return of piloting abilities applied to all other Franxx and not just Strelizia, it would be interesting. It would provide them with more options in this war. The voice of the operator broke through Papa's musings.

"Papa? Do you have any specific instructions regarding Code 016 and Strelizia?"

What should he do...? Looking at the numbers, Strelizia displayed it's highest performance in history with Code 016 at it's helm. The Aggressor Flight Leader with a Nines's Pistil piloting the highest performing Franxx in their entire arsenal.

That sounded like a war winning combination if anyone heard one.

But it came with the risks of killing off Code 016 and taking a big hit to their troops morale along with the according loss of piloting talent. He also needed to verify if Code 016 could pilot regular units and not just Strelizia.

Well, he guessed it was time to take a gamble. But it never hurt to look for alternative options. First he would verify if his piloting ability had actually fully returned by having him trial another unit and Pistil combination. If that failed, he would have them try another start-up trial, this time with Code 002 and Strelizia to check if it was just an anomaly with that particular combination that allowed Code 016 pilot once more. If that failed as well, they could safely conclude that the performance they saw was just merely a freak accident.

"Instruct Plantation 13 to initiate a start-up trial in a live Franxx with Code 016. They are allowed to use any unit with any Pistil except for Code 002 and Strelizia. If the start-up trials fails, perform another start-up trial with Code 016 in Strelizia with Code 002 as his Pistil. Afterwards, report all findings to me."

"Understood, Papa."

"Are you sure about this Papa? What if Code 016 is only able to pilot with the cursed Pistil?"

His vice-chair man spoke up.

"If that happens, then the least we could do is to see this tragedy unfold until the very end."

A smile creeped across his face as he said that.

* * *

"I'm amazed you managed to beat that Klaxosaur, we saw how huge it was and it made us freeze up in that Garage. How did it feel defeating it?"

Even though Goro asked casually as they were changing into their underwear for their suits, he noticed how everyone was listening in to hear his answer. He knew he needed to answer his question tactfully to make it as least painful as possible.

"I don't have much to say. Zero Two did most of the work."

"I see. Either way, I'm glad you made it out alive."

"Goro..."

As if on cue, the good atmosphere between Hiro and his best friend was immediately interrupted by Zorome shoulder checking him as he passed by.

"Out of my way dude!"

Hiro winced and rubbed the spot where he was shoulder checked. His muscles were still sore from yesterday's battle with the Moho-class.

"I don't believe for one bit that you defeated it. Got that, you washed up loser?"

Zorome gave a huff as he marched out of the Stamen changing rooms. Hiro merely frowned and tugged at his collar at the awkwardness of it all.

* * *

On the opposite side where the Pistil's changing rooms lay, a similar conversation played out.

"Hey Ichigo?" Miku was looking at Ichigo as she stood in the suiting pod where the 3D printer would assemble their Pistil suits from feet to neck.

"Does it ever stop being cool?" Ichigo cocked her head at the question.

"Well you know, when the printing laser reaches your shoulders on it's way up and it paints the symbol of the STFG. Don't you ever think like that's super cool? None of us ever had to experience that feeling of being in a different class like that."

Ichigo grimaced, she didn't like talking about her status as an Aggressor if it meant putting out the idea that she was an untouchable elite up in her ivory towers.

"Well...I don't feel anything, I'm used to it I guess." Seeing how Ichigo was obviously uncomfortable with the flow of the conversation, Miku tactfully changed the subject to something she _knew_ Ichigo would be interested in, Miku thought with a silly smile on her face.

"Speaking of elite, how about that Hiro? He brings home a girl out of nowhere, and she's already calling him 'darling'!" Miku giggled as she spun around in her suiting pod.

Unaware of Ichigo's darkening expression, Miku continued,

"Who knows, maybe you have a rival-"

The sound of ringing steel broke off Miku's tease. A mark was beginning to form on the pod where Ichigo slammed her hand against it as Ikuno whistled at the force behind the impact.

Ichigo paid her no heed as she stormed out of the Pistil changing room.

She felt so frustrated. Why was Miku treating this like a joke? Hiro's life was at stake here. Did she not know who Zero Two was?

But as much as she tried to pretend these were the reasons for her frustration, she found out that she couldn't lie to herself any further and had to admit that the reasons for her frustrations were much more personal and petty.

She didn't like how Zero Two looked at Hiro with unabashed desire. She didn't like how she stretched out the word "darling" like she was a savoring a particularly delicious morsel. She didn't like the way Zero Two carried him out of Strelizia and touched their cheeks together afterwards. She didn't like Zero Two for ignoring all social norms and pursuing her target of attraction without giving a damn about anyone else around them.

 _Because she wanted to do it too, she was just too shy to actually go through with it._

She didn't like Zero Two, period.

And she didn't think she would ever will.

* * *

"I understand. When do you wish it to be done? As soon as possible?" Nana replied into the landline at the Plantation's command center.

"I will arrange it immediately."

The phone clicked back into it's holder as she looked for her communicator.

* * *

"I'm this close to figure out the trick to connecting. Do you have any tips, Ichigo?"

"Clear your mind and open your heart. It's easiest if you don't overthink it or stress about the idea of failing."

"That's easy for someone like you to say."

Goro grumbled to Ichigo as she tried to give him pointers on how to handle Delphnium.

A swish of pink hair crossed her path and Ichigo's left eye twitched in irritation. Just as she was about to let it slide and continue her walk with Goro, the clenching in her heart demanded her to turn and engage Zero Two.

"Hey, tell me something." Zero Two continued walking, pretending that she didn't hear a word Ichigo was saying, but Ichigo wasn't giving up so easily.

Not when it came to Hiro.

"Why'd it have to be Hiro?"

Now that made her stop in her tracks. It seemed Hiro was the one thing that could cause her pause.

 _And that annoyed her greatly._

Zero Two turned around and faced Ichigo with a lolipop in her mouth.

"Hiro? You mean my darling?"

Ichigo's eye twitched at that word, the sound of it sending a tick of irritation through her.

"There you go, calling him that word again. Look, I'm grateful to you for saving our lives by defeating that Moho-Class. But I want you to stay away from Hiro from now on."

Zero Two eyes narrowed as Ichigo finished her speech.

 _Ahhh so this is what its about._

Zero Two already had an inkling of what was going on between this blue haired girl and her darling, but now she knew for sure.

"What's it to you?"

She knew she was taunting her with passive-aggressiveness, but she couldn't help herself. To her credit, Ichigo didn't back down. If she backed down meekly, Zero Two would have at least felt a little bit bad. She wasn't THAT heartless to be a bully.

She enjoyed conflict and fighting and domination of darling, in no particular order. Outright malicious bullying wasn't something she enjoyed.

 _Well maybe she enjoyed bullying darling juuuuuust a little bit to see his cute reactions. Just a bit though! Just._

 _And she made sure to pepper him with plenty of cuddles and kisses to make up for her aggressive approach._

"Because you're not part of our squad. Pilots should only work with their assigned partners."

She tried to cover it under the guise of being a Team Leader. But Ichigo knew she was being hypocritical when she said that.

Zero Two deemed it unnecessary to reply and decided to breach her personal space and start sniffing her instead.

"Wha... What are you doing?"

"I smell a liar~"

At the sound of her tease, The petite body of darling's fangirl tensed up, something which Zero Two noted with a hint of triumph.

"I'm just speaking from the perspective of a Team Leader. If you're gonna up and leave one day, don't get Hiro's hopes up."

With frost in her words, Ichigo shot back.

"Nope, I'm still smelling a liar here. Say, what are you to my darling?"

Finally deciding it was time to engage her head on, Ichigo flatly stated their relationship.

"I'm his childhood friend who cares a lot about him."

 _Hmm, time to figure out the truth.  
_

"Eeek!?"

Grabbed her face in surprise as Zero Two moved in and licked her cheek, Ichigo shrieked. A sticky warm feeling rolled over her cheeks that left her feeling sick to her stomach.

What was this person doing!? Who does something like that to a stranger!?

Licking her lips to savor the taste of the clingy Pistil in front of her, Zero Two nodded to herself.

 _Jackpot. Time to deliver the finishing blow._

"Hmmm... Nope, don't taste nor smell darling on you. So either... you're lying or..."

Zero Two smirked at her as she delivered a cruel blow to Ichigo's heart.

"Or there's trouble in paradise between you and darling."

Ichigo's heart felt like it was staked on a cross as she finished her sentence.

But it didn't compare to the fury bubbling within her against this... this... this homewrecker! This shameless hussy! What did she know about Hiro?

Compared to her who spent her entire life around Hiro, memorizing his likes and dislikes. Ever since she was a child she tried to match herself to his interest and ideals that he carried. She had worked hard and put in consistent effort to try and further their relationship!

She would bring him hot coffee during the late nights at the STFG base library and urge him to get some sleep instead of overworking himself. She would ignore his requests for her to turn in early instead of waiting up for him. They would both fall asleep together with their arms draped over the library books. She would wake up to see the sun rays landing on his face that framed his messy black hair in a way that made her heart race. She was the only one in the world who experienced the privilege of shaking him awake in the mornings so that he wouldn't miss breakfast at their squadron mess hall.

And then this homewrecker had barged into their peaceful lives seducing Hiro with her shameless overdeveloped body! Give her a few years and she would develop nicely too! She had seen the way Hiro stole glances at Zero Two whenever he thought she wasn't looking. Hiro used to do that to her as well!

That was until they came to this damned Plantation.

 _I had enough of this. I'm taking back what's mine!_

"Says the one-night stand." She snapped.

Jerking back in shock at the furious barb that was fired her way, Zero Two found herself blinking in surprise at the sudden escalation the blue-haired Pistil had committed to. Such a forceful statement from her wasn't what she had expected from her initial assessment of Ichigo's personality, but Zero Two refused to back down when she defended her territory.

When she defended her darling from the pawing claws of this thieving cat!

"Oh that's rich, coming from the jealous ex that he ditched aside after realizing he could do much better than you." She snarled.

Scrunching her nose at the implication that she was nothing more than Hiro's ex, Ichigo fired back.

"I've been with Hiro my entire life, you've been with him one day. We'll see who gets the last laugh."

That's right! This stupid, clingy Pistil said it herself, she had been with darling her entire life and yet darling had not made a move on her. That alone stated how complete her failure was when it came to attracting darling's attentions!

Allowing a sound of irritation to break loose, Zero Two stepped forward, her hands reaching out towards the equally furious 'Team Leader' before her.

"Why you..!"

Quickly intervened before the pair came to blows, Goro cried out.

Oh it looked really bad for a moment, he thought. So bad that he actually inserted himself between the pair as a buffer and desperately tried to call for a ceasefire between the two catfighting Pistils.

 _Dammit Hiro, this is all your fault._

He groaned to himself.

"Woah woah woah! Hey look! It's dinnertime! I'm starving, lets go Ichigo! I heard it's curry today!"

With that made up flimsy excuse that any person with common sense would have poked holes in since they would have astutely noticed it was 3.30pm in the afternoon, Goro grabbed Ichigo by her shoulders and overpowered her away in the direction opposite of Zero Two.

As far away from Zero Two as possible in fact.

 _He wondered if he could submit a request to HQ for a restraining order for the two of them. For everyone's sanity._

* * *

"Say, you think we can be like Hiro one day? You know where he defeated that giant Klaxosaur in one hit?"

"Huuuuuh!? Say what? Everyone know's Zero Two did most of the work, that washed up loser said so himself. Zero Two is a single digit right? That mean's she's far beyond even a double digit like Hiro or Goro. I bet she's just so good she can be awesome with any stamen, Hiro was just carried along for the ride."

"But even Papa is giving him his orders directly nowadays."

"That's because of the stupid patch on his shoulders, nothing more!"

Futoshi and Zorome exchanged words as they tossed a ball around between themselves in the courtyard outside. Mitsuru was off to the side listening in when he chipped in as well.

"I hear the Pistil called Zero Two has the ability to pilot a Franxx all by herself. You two saw it's four-legged form didn't you? So basically, Hiro was only taken along for the ride."

"See, I told you he was a sham!"

Zorome sneered as he watched Hiro walk past his line of sight on the edges of the courtyard.

"Don't think you're better than us, you hear me?"

He spiked the ball as forcefully as he could towards Hiro's back.

Hiro stumbled forward and found himself wincing from the pain, the ball having hit the back of his head.

"BINGO! I'm the best! Sorry, my leg slipped. Heh, were you crying under your blue haired fangirl's skirt again? I hope you're paying her for the amount of comfort she's giving you these days. That would be perfect for someone like you, a loser who just hitched a ride from a girl! Ahahahaha."

Picking up the ball as he stomped his feet towards Zorome, Hiro couldn't suppress the burning glare on his face as his eyes were locked-on towards Zorome, the entire time.

"What? You wanna go?"

"Here's your ball."

Shoving the ball into Zorome's chest as he walked away to search for a better way to spend his time, Hiro found himself stopped in his tracks by Zorome's hand on his shoulder. His left shoulder that carried the patch of the Aggressors.

"...Putting your hands on that is a chargeable offense by APE military law, you know."

Hiro warned Zorome.

"Well I'm not touching it aren't I? My hand's on your actual shoulder blade so you can stop being a wuss and running away behind your fangirls and your shoulder patches!"

"Once I get another chance, I'll show you I can pilot." Hiro glared at Zorome.

"You? Or Zero Two?" He sniggered.

Zorome was seriously starting to get on his nerves. Fine, he was sick of ignoring Zorome anyway. Ignoring him never seemed to work because he was always hungry for an excuse to clash with him.

"Challenge accepted! I will pilot a Franxx without Zero Two and show you that I can stand on my own power."

"Hey asshole... I don't like your tone." Zorome advanced towards Hiro with his fists clenched. Mitsuru merely watched with interest out of the corner of his eyes from beyond the shade he was resting in.

Just as Hiro prepared himself for an outright physical confrontation with Zorome, the courtyard door opened to reveal Goro and Ichigo who saw the dangerous situation between the two of them. Hiro was tensed up and glaring at Zorome with his dominant half of his body facing him. It was a classic pose that Ichigo recognized from the stance his Franxx took before he engaged in close quarters combat. Zorome was much easier to read, he was outright about to charge at Hiro with his fists raised.

With a quick glance at each other, Goro and Ichigo nodded and split up to handle each individual time bomb as they both rushed to break up the incoming fight.

Goro tackled Zorome from the back and put him in an Nelson Lock in order to restrict his movements. Zorome yelled and struggled but the taller boy had a firm grip on Zorome and his struggling was useless.

Ichigo used a gentler approach where she slammed herself into a cooldown hug to the black haired boy who seemed ready to pounce. As Ichigo hugged Hiro tightly, she was whispering to him in his ears , telling him to calm down, that everything would be ok, that he didn't need to do this right now. Eventually, Hiro released the tension he was holding in his body and relaxed into Ichigo's hug. However his eyes were still sharp and furious as he looked at Ichigo.

"Ichigo. Lets pilo-"

The ringing of her communicator cut Hiro off as Ichigo fished out her communicator from her pockets, sighing as she did so.

"It's Nana."

* * *

"A mock battle with me in a Franxx?"

Hiro queried in the briefing room.

"That's right." Nana replied.

"We have orders from APE to conduct a mock battle with Code 016 in order to verify your return of your piloting capabilities. If successful, we're considering putting you back on the active duty roster." Hachi finished.

Hiro gasped.

 _This was it!_

"Grats, Hiro!" Goro shot a thumbs up at him.

His eyes lit up with a joy and eagerness to succeed. This was his big break!

"Alright then, time to select your partner."

Remembering Zorome's jab at being carried by Zero Two. Hiro immediately thought of his old pistil in Ichigo, she was a known pistil that he had experience piloting with for most of his Franxx career. Before he could speak up, he was interrupted by a voice that sent chills down his neck.

 _And not in a bad way._

"I'll do it."

"Zero Two..."

This was bad, how would he reject her? If he went into Strelizia and succeeded, it wouldn't change Zorome beliefs at all that he was just a burden which Zero Two just dragged across the finish line.

"I mean...you are my darling, aren't you?"

 _This was really really bad. He needed to find an excuse and it had to be an amazing one!_

As he desperately searched for one, Ichigo spoke up with her hand raised and rescued him from his dilemma.

"Let me be his partner."

"Ichigo..."

Hiro murmured her name in relief. This wasn't lost on Zero Two's enhanced hearing thanks to her Klaxosaur genes. However, those genes soon proved to be a curse as she immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion at her darling's tone towards Ichigo volunteering herself. Chewing her nails in frustration, Zero Two panicked.

 _Was she really just a fling for him?_

Ichigo confidence was boosted by Hiro's apparent support in her and she pushed on to relentlessly advertise herself as the perfect pistil for Hiro.

 _As she should be._

"Firstly, she doesn't belong to our squad. Also, if you're only measuring Hiro's aptitude, I am the perfect choice for being Hiro's partner. Not only do we have two years worth of experience working together as a Stamen-Pistil relationship from the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group. We have over 87 logged excursions in a Franxx together."

It wasn't necessary to go into such detail about their past. Everyone already knew of their previous working relationship at the STFG. But Ichigo felt a vindictiveness from the earlier encounter she had today with Zero Two that pushed her to state just how long and how many times she had piloted with Hiro towards Zero Two who currently sat in the same briefing room as them.

Upon hearing this, Zero Two nails started chipping from the force at which she was biting them. However, Ichigo did not have any intention of showing her even the slightest bit of mercy.

"Finally, as I've known Hiro _the longest of all the pistils in this room_ , I believe you will not find a _better match in terms of our compatibility_."

Relentlessly. Mercilessly. Cruelly.

Ichigo drove the stakes into Zero Two's bleeding heart without pause.

Just as Zero Two was about to stand up and give that thieving-cat what she deserved. Mitsuru spoke out with his voice dripping with scorn for Ichigo.

"You already have Goro for a partner but yet you seem to be more interested in Hiro all the time. One wonders the reliability of such an unfaithful pistil."

Ichigo felt a shiver of fear rush through her body as she found herself turning her head towards Hiro to plead her innocence.

 _Surely he didn't think she was an unfaithful woman? She was always Hiro's pistil in her heart. Her current arrangement with Goro was merely a product of circumstance and not by her own choice.  
_

Ichigo hoped that Hiro didn't think lowly of her for piloting with another Stamen.

The glare that Hiro leveled at Mitsuru for his toxic words reassured Ichigo and made her racing heart settle down. Deep down, she felt overjoyed that Hiro was defending her. She liked it when Hiro defended her! It made her feel like she was the most important thing to him!

However, her happiness was not to last. She forgot that there was one more jackal that thirsted for her blood and failure.

"Wow, Look at this guy. I'm so jealous, he has two beautiful Pistils fighting over him. An Aggressor and a Special Forces pilot from The Nines. Truly, you must teach us your secret, Hiro-sama~"

If Mitsuru's voice was dripping with scorn, Zorome's voice was flooded with sarcasm.

"Alright, quiet down you all. Zero Two." Nana looked at her.

She looked towards Nana for support. However, what followed was more of an execution than support.

"HQ has made it absolutely clear neither you nor Strelizia are to be used in today's mock battle for Hiro. Sorry, but orders are orders."

Zero Two ground her teeth together so harshly she tasted the coppery tang of blood.

 _Fine then. It's your win you thieving-cat._

Zero Two stood up to relay some final words to Ichigo to remind her of her limits around darling. As she placed her hand on Ichigo's shoulder, Zero Two squeezed tightly as she whispered in Ichigo's ears.

"Don't get too comfortable now."

"Don't worry, I'm used to it. It's only going to be the eighty-eighth time we've connected after all."

Zero Two wanted to claw her eyes out so badly, but darling's concerned gaze stopped her from doing so.

 _Stupid darling with his stupid cute eyes and his stupid cute clueless face that made her want to kiss it senseless as she tore off his clothes and-_

Zero Two inhaled the deepest breath she could and with all the self discipline she could muster, she stormed out of the room to go smash some tree trunks to pieces. Or something.

But something was getting smashed.

Except Ichigo's face, because that would get her jailed. And jail had no darling. Even if she was part of The Nines that weren't under regular military justice, she wasn't doing so hot right now with Papa and the other Nines, they would find any excuse to throw her under the bus or limit her freedom.

 _Just get him arrested too so they could be together._

Her mind grumpily suggested.

 _If it's with darling, jail is just a room anyway._

Time to go smash something to pieces.

The briefing room door sealed shut once more and Hiro felt the tension lower slightly. He exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Does anyone want to be their opponents?"

 _Oh come on Hachi, why am I NOT surprised nothing fazes you. At this point I'm surprised by me being surprised that you are not surprised. If that makes sense._

"Me!"

"Ack!"

Two voices sounded off in near unison.

"Hey! Who died and made you boss?" Miku screeched at Zorome.

"I gotta be the one that tears down their charade."

Scooting closer to Zorome to whisper in his ear, glanced nervously towards Ichigo as she did so, Miku panicked.

"They're the Aggressors you know? We're totally gonna get our asses kicked!" She worried.

Giving her a dismissive wave, Zorome rolled his eyes.

"Shush, you've seen those losers, remember the activation incident? They couldn't even boot up a Standard Franxx."

Miku pondered his rationale, giving Ichigo one last nervous glance before she nodded her approval.

"We'll do it."

"Alright. The pairs are selected. The mock battle shall be held at the Training Yard, tomorrow morning." Hachi announced.

"Wait wait wait! Let's just get it over with right now! I've got to wash my hair tomorrow morning so lets just beat these shams and call it a day!"

* * *

"Zorome's still mad at you from today's fight."

"When isn't he ever not mad at me?"

Hiro pointed out.

"Ack... well..."

Goro winced as he tried to defend Zorome since he knew the caustic Stamen still possessed some decent qualities buried deep down.

 _Verrrrrrry deep down._

"I'm sorry Goro, I know how Ichigo is your partner and all."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Besides, she was your partner for longer anyway. You two go way back."

"Goro..."

"It's alright. Really. If it's the two of you, I know you can win. I believe in the both of you, now go get them, Hiro."

As Hiro left their room for the mock battle, Goro felt a slight pang of sadness creep into his heart.

* * *

The sight of Hiro and Ichigo walking side-by-side in their pilot suits towards Delphinium was a sight worthy of an APE propaganda highlight reel. The original Aggressor duo returning to pilot together from a year long hiatus. Aggressor-1 was being reformed. If anyone saw the two sets of wings and daggers walking towards a Franxx together, they would call over every surveillance bot in the region to take as many photos as possible to spread it around in a newsletter for the troops.

 _Maybe even make them do some cheesy pose. Like a side shot of them back to back with their Aggressor patches visible._

Hiro scrunched his nose in disgust at the thought. He didn't want to make this moment into some propaganda mouthpiece. He was more concerned about the mounting pressure and stress that was building up inside him from the sheer nervousness he was feeling into entering a cockpit with Ichigo once more.

The last time he had entered a Franxx cockpit with Ichigo had ended in total, utter failure and humiliation.

He tried not to think too hard about that.

He tried realllllllllly hard not to think about it.

 _Utter humiliation once more if he failed. Not just for him, but for Ichigo as well._

Hiro didn't realize that he had started to hyperventilate until he felt a soothing warmth encase his right hand.

"It's OK Hiro. There's nothing to be worried about. Just like usual, right?"

He started to calm down. His breathing slowed to a normal rate and he closed his eyes as he felt his right hand being squeezed.

"No matter what happens out there, I'll be right there with you."

 _Ichigo was really good at knowing exactly what to say to calm him down. That was the scary power of a childhood friend for you._

"Let go get them then."

"Yup."

He squeezed her hand back.

* * *

The skylights of the plantation burnt away the darkness of the Training Yard. Hiro looked around him. He wanted to know exactly who was watching this.

Nana and Hachi. Of course. Plantation Strategic Officer and Doctor Franxx's Aide.

Doctor Franxx. Of course. Nana was here after all, you chased butts, not the other way around.

A medical team on standby. Of course. APE safety regulations at work.

A surveillance drone to officially record the events. Of course. Both for safety reasons and post battle analysis.

Goro. Mitsuru. Futoshi. Kokoro. Ikuno. _Oh come on don't you guys have something better to do. Go socialize or something._

And finally, standing on a ledge leaning on the rails as if she was a sailor's wife awaiting her beloved to return home,

Zero Two.

 _Well, it wasn't that many people. Just basically everyone that he knew or knows him was here to watch the mock battle._

 _This could be amazing or a disaster depending on what happens._

Hiro groaned to himself, and not because Zorome was already on his comms channel ranting at him on Delphinium's main display,

"-you got that wuss?"

"Yeah yeah..."

Hiro groaned out again. Ichigo shot him a weird look from her kneeling position as she prepared her entry into the Pistil terminal.

"Sorry Ichigo, I'm just overwhelmed at the moment."

Ichigo placed her hand upon his as she reassured him,

"Just focus on concentrating. I'll handle the rest."

"Are you sure you can rely on him to even do that much? Considering who your partner is, 'Great Leader', I just might beat you this time."

Great... now even Miku was joining in. He glanced at Ichigo, noticing she had not deemed Miku's boast barely worth a reply. Because she was currently completely focused on making sure they succeeded instead. She needed to make sure the world knew Hiro could pilot a Franxx.

If she could make that happen, she wouldn't mind bearing all the insults in the world for Hiro ten times over, no a hundred times over, nay, a million times over if she had to.

Hiro looked at the concentration on Ichigo's face while Miku insulted her and thought to himself,

 _Ichigo being reliable as always. Was there a time she was never there for him?_

For a moment, Hiro felt his heart pang with guilt. Because he felt like he was letting her down. That he didn't deserve her kindness. He started to feel the black clouds starting to form over his head once more. As he dully gripped the extending handles from Ichigo's pistil suit. Hiro didn't even realize he was beginning to brood once more.

It didn't occur when he was with Zero Two as she was like a whirlwind of force and affection that blew away anything that tried to cling to him. She had so much sheer force of personality and aggressiveness that he couldn't help but be swept along the currents with it. It was like he had barely time to think whenever he was with Zero Two. Just the sound of "darling" alone made his body tense up in anticipation of what was going to happen.

It felt like she had him all wrapped around her little finger. A single "Darling" and a wiggling finger beckon and the next thing he knew, he was already rushing to be by her side.

With Ichigo though? It was like he was forced to slow down, contemplate every decision, mull over every action. The time he spent with Ichigo, if he were to compare it with the time he spent with Zero Two, they were like total opposites. If his mind didn't think enough when he was with Zero Two, his mind overthought itself to the point of brooding whenever he was with Ichigo.

But it wasn't always a bad thing.

With Ichigo, he felt like he could breath, relax, slow things down and enjoy the more detailed things in life. And he knew that Ichigo always provided him with a sense of security, no matter what.

To the point where sometimes, he felt like he was taking Ichigo for granted.

 _Ichigo..._

She was always there for him. Wherever he went, Ichigo wasn't far away. No matter how he tried to hide away from the world on most days, Ichigo always knew how to find him. She always knew what to say to cheer him up. She always wore that hair clip he gifted her day in and day out without fail. She always made sure he slept enough, ate on time and had proper hydration.

 _She was always watching over him from somewhere._

Why didn't he realize it till now? All he did for the past year was ignore her, brush her aside, give her the cold shoulder. If he looked back, wasn't he acting like a total jerk to her all the time? Why would she put up with that? Why did he never notice he was being so cruel towards Ichigo's feelings?

 _BECAUSE YOU'RE SO FUCKING SELFISH!_

A familiar voice screamed at him. And he realized, even though he boasted internally how much he had changed after her death. He never really took her words to heart. He merely assumed that he had changed for the better and never bothered to ensure he did so. Nor did he even bother to reflect or think about his actions. He told himself that reflecting was for whiners, it was for depressed raven haired stamens that ignored the world around them as they wallowed in their self pity.

 _He allowed himself to be carried away by Zero Two because he wanted to_

 _Because she made him forget all his pains and fears and troubles in a single word_

 _It was as if she was a drug and he was an addict_

 _It was as if he was hiding behind Zero Two and her displays of affections._

The rebirth he was so proud of with Zero Two?

A lie.

The glory that he clung on to while he was in her embrace in Strelizia?

A sham.

The achievements he was so proud of?

It wouldn't have been possible without Ichigo being his rock, his pillar of support. His foundation. And what did he do with such a thing? Ignore her, cold shoulder her, wave her off and tell her not to worry so much. All the while he abused the fact that no matter what happened, he could count on Ichigo to be there for him at least. He abused it unknowingly.

 _He felt like a complete jackass._

Hiro was so deep back into his depression that he barely felt the probing lance pierce his mind.

 _It's alright, I know Hiro better than anyone in this world. If there's anyone who can draw out his ability, it's me._

 _I'm entering Hiro's mind now._

 _Wha...? What's all this darkness? It's pitch black. I can't see anything. Hiro? Hiro? Where are you?_

 _No matter._

 _I will break through._

 _For his sake._

Ichigo mentally sharpened herself into a single point and thrust her consciousness into the oily black darkness.

A unnoticed hiss of pain was her only reply.

 _I'm inside! I feel the connection! We can start Delphinium now!_

 _Initializing startup sequence!_

 _Delphinium, ACTIVATE!_

His shriek of pain echoed off the cockpit's walls.

In her ecstasy at having achieved her goal, Ichigo never noticed the fact that Hiro was suffering a fit in the stamen seat behind her as she brutalized her way into his mind.

As the entire cockpit lit up, Ichigo never realized she was hurting him.

Hurting the one person she loved the most in pursuit of his happiness. How ironic.

* * *

"Uwah, the face plate activated... Hey, Zorome, are you serious about this?"

"I'm telling you, it's fine. Look! They can't even walk!"

And Zorome was right.

 _Just take one step at a time. Right step. Slowly. Gently. Softly._

As she unconsciously took over the controls of Delphinium on her own, she didn't realize Hiro was hitting his physical limits right behind her.

Delphinium lifted it's right leg and gingerly started to move it forward.

"Alright! Time to attack! Their Franxx is activated and they're moving! They're free game now!"

"Hey! Stop it, Zorome! Something's wrong with Delphinium!"

"Nooooope, I'm going in! Take this!"

With a burst of speed that left dust kicking up from the soil around it's feet, Argentea slammed into Delphinium and rammed it into the Plantation's walls with a loud crash.

Delphinium slowly slid to the ground as sparks flew from where it was scraping the steel of the Plantation's walls. As it's behind finally touched the soil, it lay there immobile as it rested against the Plantation's walls like a puppet with it's strings cut off.

Zorome looked absolutely disgusted.

"Special Tactical Fighter Training Group my fucking ass... you guys are pathetic. PATHETIC!" He screamed.

He rammed Argentea's feet into Delphinum's belly as he kicked it repeatedly.

"HEY! STOP! WE'RE SERIOUSLY LOOKING LIKE BULLIES HERE ZOROME!"

"Like I care! They deserve it for taking us for fools! What's all this about a trainer squadron huh? They're nothing more than frauds! Garbage! Trash! Scum! Con artists! Liars! FUCKING ASSHOLES!"

Zorome punctuated every insult with a kick from Argentea.

* * *

Mercifully, the initial ram by Argentea that slammed Delphinium into the Plantation's walls disconnected Ichigo from her Pistil terminal as the temporary bond between Hiro and her was severed. Thus she did not feel any pain from the follow up kicks from Zorome's Argentea.

She merely had to feel Delphinium rumble with the screeching of twisting metal as Zorome's ranted profanities at them.

 _She would have preferred the pain of the kicks. This was humiliating._

But Ichigo pulled herself together.

 _She refused to break._

Because Hiro needed her help. Hiro who was slumped over in his stamen chair with a small amount of red froth leaking out the sides of his lips. His eyes were glassy. He wasn't dead. The twitching of his chest and body were proof of that.

 _She did this to him. She hurt him. She hurt Hiro. She was a bad person. She was a terrible person._

Ichigo dry heaved onto the ground of Delphinium. The rattling of Delphinium's cockpit not helping her stomach in anyway as the kicks continued. She felt like the luckiest person in the world for skipping dinner due to the stress of the upcoming mock battle ruining her appetite. Because of that decision, the only thing that exited from her was a mercifully small amount of saliva.

She dry heaved again whenever she saw Hiro's body twitch once more.

 _Can't... Break... Hiro needs help... Call medical... Then break down..._

As she willed herself to stop dry heaving. Ichigo pushed herself back up on shaking arms that felt like twigs to her. The kicking had stopped. It seemed Miku had finally managed to wrest control away from Zorome or at least resist enough to make him stop the attacks. With Delphinium's cockpit now still, It gave her much needed stability to try and piece herself together and figure out her next course of action.

Her next course of action was determined however, by the appearance of Zorome once more. Well, not appearance. Considering Delphinium had powered down from the broken connection, the only lights available were the eerie red emergency lights that flashed in the darkness. So a more accurate term was that she _heard_ Zorome.

"How does the Earth feel? Much different from your STFG ivory towers huh?"

She knew what his plan was. He wanted her to break down and cry on the comm channels for everyone to hear. To hear her admit her defeat and grovel between his kicks. He wanted to grind Argentea's boot on Delphinium's skull until it's forehead touched the ground. He wanted to stomp on her, piss on her, spit on her and leave her broken, humiliated corpse as an example of what it meant to go against him. He wanted to bring the humiliation to its peak and finish her off.

 _He wanted to feel the thrill of breaking an Aggressor._

Ichigo sat on her knees and steeled herself for the incoming abuse. She couldn't lose to him. Even if it was something as mere as crying.

"Did you like strutting around with your wings, you show-off bitch?"

She glanced at the left shoulder of her pistil suit that carried the namesake of the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group.

The Aggressors.

They poured their blood and sweat and tears into improving Humanity's chances of surviving the Human-Klaxo war. Their Doctrine. _Their brain._ Their Franxx. _Their Steel_. Their Pilots. _Their flesh and bone._

Every mistake they made could cost potential lives. _So they refused to make any. A 100% success rate wasn't exceptional. It was expected._

Every piece of false information could cost lives. _So they studied until their eyeballs felt like it would burst on desperate nights._

Even a 3 percent increase could mean a reduced reaction time of 0.1 seconds which could mean the different between a dodge or a hit, it could cost lives. _So they recorded motion data until their muscles screamed and their bones creaked._

They weren't allowed to make major redesigns on the Standard Fraxx that pushed production costs up. But even a 1% mobility increase could save lives. _So they worked on the Franxx until their hair and clothes were slick with monkey grease trying to find something to optimize._

Every Aggressor was considered a Strategic-class level asset by APE. They weren't allowed to even put their lives in the tiniest bit of danger lest they lose thousands of man-hours worth of invaluable knowledge. _So they had to watch by the sidelines as their security team were torn to pieces whenever they had to capture a Klaxosaur for the Aggressors to study. Everything had to be earned over a mountain of corpses and sacrifices. Nothing was ever easy._

The average lifespan of a Franxx pilot on the front lines was 26 days.

Whenever they returned to Garden to file their reports, they would look at the sea of faces who carried nothing but awe whenever they passed by the legendary Wings and Daggers. They felt sick to their stomachs that the best they could do for these pure souls was a 26 day lifespan when they graduated from Garden. _So they made it 27days. Even an extra day added to the mortality rate was considered a victory._

And they did all this not for glory, pride or a paycheck.

 _They just wanted to show the world that their wings were earned, not given._

Ichigo sniffed as the stream of abuse continued. Her heart was being smashed to pieces one square inch at a time.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You couldn't even activate a Standard Franxx when you first came here, you shams!"

 _He wanted to make this Aggressor bitch beg for forgiveness._

Ichigo sniffed again.

"Being handed team leader on a silver platter just because of that fucking lie you call a patch!"

 _He wanted to make the Aggressors an example of what would happen if you went against the Great Zorome._

Ichigo sniffed again.

"When all you did all day was chase your Aggressor boyfriend around all day. Did you even realize you had an actual assigned stamen?", Zorome continued in a false stiletto, "Pilots should work with their assigned partners" he then finished,

"While you were sucking Hiro off whenever he disappeared for even a single second."

 _He wanted Papa to know how much he had messed up by choosing these failures as Aggressors._

Ichigo sniffed again.

"You should be glad Franxx don't come with any way to expel fluids, because if it could, I would be spitting on your shitty Delphinium right now."

 _Because, deep down, Zorome wanted to be an Aggressor himself._

Ichigo choked.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Closing on the edge of her face where it threatened to fall.

* * *

"Should we call it?"

"No. Give them a chance."

Zero Two frowned at the doctors decision, she didn't agree with what was happening right now and she swore that the next time she saw Zorome, she would rip him to pieces for touching darling like that. But to her, it felt good for that blue haired thieving-cat to be taken down a peg. She looked around to the Plantation 13 Squad watching the entire thing play out.

Or what was left of them.

Kokoro had left, she felt physically ill and registered herself to the medical team where she was brought to the infirmary. Futoshi followed her.

Goro was physically being held back by black armored security troops as he screamed himself hoarse at Zorome to stop.

Ikuno pointedly started facing a wall and stared at it as if it would offer some dignity and privacy to the victims.

Mitsuru looked bored, as usual.

Zero Two just wished it would all end soon so she could cuddle and nurse her darling back to health.

* * *

 _It was comfortable here._

 _There was no noise or disturbances._

 _He could rest here forever._

 _It was warm and comforting._

 _He wanted to rest here forever._

 _Until he heard a sound._

 _A sound that he only heard once in his entire life._

 _It was a very. very. very. very. very_

 _Long time since he heard that sound._

 _But he promised someone important that he would never let her make that sound ever again._

 _And thus, he approached the source._

* * *

Ichigo had failed. She had broken to Zorome's torrent of abuse. The world had seen how a broken Aggressor looked like. The burning shame flushed hot against her skin and made her choke for air.

The sign of her failure was rolling down it's unstoppable descent down her face where it would drip down to the cockpit floor of Delphinium.

Just a few more seconds until it was over.

She emptied her mind, froze her body still, and waited for the end.

Except the end didn't come.

As she held her breath-

Ichigo felt a warm touch brush against her cheek.

The drop of liquid was being wicked away.

"I told you that your crying face looked terrible."

His green-blue eyes shone in the darkness.

"It even tastes the same as back then. You never do change at all, do you?"

With the lips that were clear of the red froth, he spoke those carefree words as if he was making casual conversation in the mess hall.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

Her parched throat croaked out,

"HIRO!"

"Ouch, hey... stop! It still hurts there, hey not so hard! Ichigo come on, it seriously hurts ow, stop that. Ah whatever, do whatever you want like you always do."

He complained as Ichigo choked out her sobs into the crook of his neck.

"Oh come on, you were doing so well just now holding yourself together and now you burst like a dam. What was the point of all the hard work you just did if you were going to gush tears anyway?"

A loud smacking sound echoed in Delphinium's cockpit.

 _Damn, nice hands on this one._

"STUPID HIRO!"

"Hey stop!"

Another smack rang out along the cockpit walls, Hiro wincing at the pain. _  
_

"Hey that's SERIOUSLY starting to hurt real bad, please stop."

"I don't care! Just go and die!"

"But I just came back! You want me to go die again?!"

Hiro rubbed his cheeks at her third, and final slap.

"If you keep doing that I am SERIOUSLY going back to where I came from!" He snapped at her.

Her choking sobs cried out, pain and grief spilling forth.

"Why don't you understand? I don't like guys that think they can drop dead and then come back with a cool line at the very end and think that makes it all okay! I want someone reliable and there for me everyday of the week! I don't like guys who think that putting a lot of effort in a short period of time makes them entitled to everything because they think they worked hard! That's not working hard! That's worst than being lazy! That's arrogance!"

Hiro blinked at her emotional outburst.

"Ichigo..."

Shutting her eyes as she poured her heart out to her childhood friend, Ichigo continued. The unspoken words she was carrying her entire life burst out from within her as she confessed everything she had kept so well hidden her entire life.

Not anymore.

"I want someone who puts in effort everyday, even if its a little bit! I don't believe in lopsided stuff like birthdays where you go all out for one day then ignore the person for the rest of the year! I want everyday to be special! So Hiro... stop scaring me all the time."

With a guilty, sideways glance, Hiro apologized for worrying the closest person he had in his life.

"...Sorry."

"It's better to apologize and look embarrassed then to never apologize at all thinking you're always the correct one. Just because you never apologize doesn't mean you're right. It just makes you seem like a jerk. I have more respect for an idiot than a jerk." Ichigo sniffed out, blinking away her tears as she did so.

"I'm sorry I made you cry. Even though I made a promise that I would never let you cry again."

"Well you better start getting ready to make it up to me then."

"Where do I start?"

With her mind nearly delirious from her outpouring of emotions. Ichigo blurted out her deepest desires.

"You can start by kissing me for once, dummy."

Freezing at the bombshell she had just dropped on him, Ichigo squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the burning shame light up her cheeks. Her body turned away as she shifted in embarrassment.

A soft, wetness grazed her lips, breaking through the frazzled state of her mind.

 _Did he just...?_

Was this really happening? This wasn't real right? What was going on?

 _He actually kissed me-_

And as quickly as it began, it ended. The physical contact had ended so quickly Ichigo couldn't even gather the necessary time to process the sensation that had graced her lips. But as she brushed her lips in muted amazement, idyllically enjoying the taste as she did so, Ichigo found herself smiling at the relationship upgrade that had occurred between them.

"Will this serve as my down payment?" He teased.

Unfortunately, all that earned him was a glare from Ichigo.

"What did I just say about cool lines? I hate that." Irritation filled her voice as she spoke.

"Fine. Lets just go beat up Zorome then. That sound any better for you?"

"It's a date then."

Rolling his eyes at their banter, Hiro shook his head.

"You are such a hypocrite."

Ichigo laughed at that.

After allowing herself to indulge in the fluffy warmth of their shared in-joke, a serious expression filled Ichigo's face once more.

"We can't activate Delphinium. We still failed, Hiro." she pointed out.

"We didn't try yet."

"We tried countless of times, all of them didn't work. And even if we did, Delphinium is damaged and we're both still recovering. There's no way we'll win. And there's no way we'll ever pilot together ever again after this." Ichigo spoke, as she resigned herself to their failure.

The silence in the cockpit was punishing as the red emergency lights only added to the reservations clouding Ichigo's mind.

However, Hiro's green-blue orbs blazed forth as he spoke in a confident voice.

"We will win. Because we're Aggressors."

Confusion flooded Ichigo's mind at his declaration. Just what was Hiro talking about? They were in a damaged Franxx that couldn't even boot up.

Did she break something in his brain from slapping him too much?

"Hiro, we're specialized to fight Klaxosaurs, our enemy is a Franxx, we're out of our field here." she worried.

Hiro laughed, a sharp piercing laugh as if Ichigo had told the funniest joke in the world. Out of their field? Hilarious!

 _Maybe I shouldn't have slapped him that much._

Hiro's laughing died down and he looked at her once more with utmost seriousness.

 _Definitely should not have slapped him that much._

"I'm telling you the very reason we _will_ win is because the target is a Franxx, not a Klaxosaur. It's within our lineage and heritage to defeat enemy Franxx. That's why I think it's time we fulfilled the _original mission of an Aggressor Squadron_."

Ichigo cocked her head at him in puzzlement, as if he was speaking an alien language.

Hiro sighed to himself. This girl could be so smart and yet so oblivious sometimes.

 _Classic Ichigo._

Hiro found himself rolling his eyes at the cute puzzlement displayed on her face.

 _And that was exactly what he found so endearing about her._

He pointed to the direction where Argentea was waiting outside of Delphinium's cockpit. Ichigo's head turned to match his finger movements and her eyes followed to the place where he was pointing.

"...He's OPFOR."

Ichigo's mouth opened in an silent "oh" shape.

Now everything made sense.

Ichigo's eyes glinted in the darkness as everything clicked together at once and a flip was switched in her head. A dangerous smile crossed her lips as she did so.

She turned towards the Pistil Terminal and inserted herself into it. Her arms and legs slid in with a hiss as they locked themselves in place. Her rear neck display clicked in the eerie silence of the cockpit as it unfolded itself. Every mechanical click seemed to signal the incoming doom of Argentea.

As the display on the rear of the Pistil suit fully unfurled and snapped in place, little did the pilots of Argentea realize that they had just signed their own death warrant.

The display was a blank screen. But it would change soon enough.

Then she waited for the callout that she only heard from Hiro whenever they did "those" type of field exercises during their time in the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group.

And even then, the only times he made that callout was when they absolutely wanted to _utterly wreck_ someone's day.

Someone.

Not something.

A human pilot of flesh and blood. Like Hiro had pointed out, it was the original mission of all Aggressor Squadrons in history.

Finally, the order came loud and clear from behind her.

 _The moment she was waiting for to unleash her true nature._

Little did her fellow Plantation 13 squad mates knew that there consisted a dual nature to her true self.

Code 015, the anxious team leader that was prone to overthinking and worrying about Hiro.

Aggressor-1B, the living nightmare of enemy pilots.

"Ichigo!"

Her entire body froze as she prepared to mentally shift gears and invert everything she had. Already, she was flexing the mental switch state from Ichigo, Franxx Piloting Code 015 to Ichigo, Aggressor-1B.

The glint in her eyes shimmered dangerously in the flashing red lights of Delphinium's cockpit.

"Last Showdown! Let's finish it off!"

That was it.

The switch was flipped.

The gears in her brain shifted to something forbidden.

Her blood flow in her veins inverted. Her base thinking processes changed to something more primal, feral and dangerous.

Her entire aura seemed to change.

Her eyes narrowed into slits as her back arched inwards. Her shoulders lifted closer to her head, emphasizing the wings she bore on them that glinted in the pulsing red lights of Delphinium's cockpit. Every muscle group in her body tensed as if it was a loaded gun ready to go off. Her nose scrunched as she bared her teeth towards her enemy.

She shifted her position in the Pistil Terminal to take up a position that one might identify as an attack stance in feral quadrupled canines.

In just a mere instant, Ichigo had transformed into a hunter of **Humans** instead of Klaxosaurs.

Mentally speaking, Code 015 existed no more for the moment. There was only Aggressor-1B primed to destroy the enemy pilots that lay in front of her.

The only step that remained was to verbalize her confirmation of the order spoken by her Flight Leader. From Hiro. That gave him the green light that they were ready to annihilate any enemy pilots that stood in their way. Breathing in, Ichigo filled her lungs with air as she prepared to complete her mental transformation.

 _This was the part she loved the most._

"Behold... _"_

In a deep and husky voice that Ichigo saved just for this occasion,

"The sprint of these wings."

By the end of that spoken line, she was outright growling.

* * *

In the Training Yard, Delphinium's face place activated and colorized as it smoothly dusted itself off the dirt and stood facing Argentea with a smirk on it's face. That damned smirk that had Miku's body shivering in fear as Zorome nervously gripped the handles of the pistil suit so tightly he heard his knuckles pop.

Zero Two's jaw _dropped as_ she shot the doctor an accusing stare. Pushing down his elation at the successful activation procedure, Werner steadied his voice as he deadpanned to her,

"I wished you good luck back on the transport plane for a reason you know."


	7. Afterword

A pastry at a coffee shop.

That was what I was chewing on as the basic ideas of this story came together in my mind. You know how a good story makes you sit down and ponder over it the next few days after you've finished it? Darling in the Franxx was that story.

I'm not an experienced content creator. Truth be told, I'm more of a content consumer when it comes to hobbies. I've never expected myself to actually put my foot forward and add my contribution to the DiTF fan-content pool.

But the itch at the back of my brain persisted over months until I knew i had to share my vision with someone else. This familiar tale that we all love so much left a lot unanswered, and that vagueness allowed me to take a lot of liberties with this piece of fan-fiction.

The basic framework came from a pondering thought that, if the coding system for pilots were to symbolize their proficiency rankings, did anyone not notice two things? That Hiro/Ichigo were the codes that were right next to each other, 015/016, while Goro was pretty far off at 056. And finally, if no one had ever heard of single digits before 002 appeared, wouldn't that automatically lead one to assume that 015/016 were the near peak of what the general population of Franxx pilots knew?

And with that, the itch grew into a spark.

I found myself enjoying writing this more than I expected.

I sincerely wish that you've enjoyed reading it as much as I had when I wrote it. I hope that I can continue to meet your expectations as we explore what could have been in the tale that we both share a common love for.

I am just a mere fan, just like you. I wish that we can enjoy this adventure together as it proceeds onwards.


	8. Chapter 7

_Welcome back, my boy. I knew I was right to have placed my bets on you. Seems like my plans are still on schedule._

Werner Franxx could not suppress the grin that broke out on his aged face as he verified that the plans that he had set in motion many years ago was still on it's course to fruition. All the while he ignored how Zero Two was pointedly doing her best to cause a bruise on his arm as she incessantly jabbed at him with her finger.

"Sooooooooo, you do know that you have a lot of explaining to do, don't you?"

"All in due time my dear, all in due time. Now hush, let us watch the spectacle before us."

Before Zero Two could insist on getting her explanation from the doctor, Nana cut in with a serious tone as she tapped the display of the tablet she carried in her hands.

"Franxx activation is confirmed by Code 016 and Code 015. Shall we call a stop to the tests? Delphinium's chest plate still requires repairs from the impacts it has received."

"No. Proceed with the mock battle to it's conclusion."

"What? Why? It'll just place further risks of damage to the Franxx currently on the field. We've gotten what we came for, no need to take further risks." Nana argued.

However, Werner merely looked at her with an amused eyebrow as he rejected her suggestions.

"You're as uptight as ever, Nana. Think of it as fulfilling an old man's whims."

"Putting valuable hardware at risk goes far beyond something as mere as your whims, doctor."

"I think the boy has earned his right to cut loose, wouldn't you say? Besides, aren't you curious as well?"

"...Eh?"

"Thirty-five points advantage, right?"

"...Doctor?"

His single remaining eye fixed upon Nana as he continued.

"I'll guess you'll soon get to see what it truly means for a pilot to carry a thirty-five point advantage in melee proficiency over Nine-Alpha in real-world terms."

Looking towards to the two Franxx now facing each other in the Training Yard, Nana grimaced as she prayed for the safety of Argentea's pilots.

* * *

"Delphinium startup sequence complete. Connection established and holding steady. Magma Fuel Converter is running within acceptable margins of error. Minor damage to chest module detected, minimal loss to combat effectiveness. Systems, all green. We're cleared for combat operations."

As Ichigo relayed the information that she received from the Pistil terminal, Hiro took note of their current status and verbalized their next step.

"Put out an area scan with the sensors and retrieve all potential targets. 500 meters will do."

"Scanning. Scan complete. Target, 330 meters bearing north, Argentea-class Franxx. IFF disengaged. Non-lethal limiters are in place. Awaiting your orders."

"Switch to manual controls."

As she executed the OS switch from automated piloting controls to full manual, Ichigo smiled at how the pilots of Argentea didn't seem to realize how badly they had screwed up by volunteering to be their opponents.

 _It's their funeral then._

* * *

Zorome felt a cold drop of sweat roll down his back. Miku seemed no better, she was outright shivering in fear as they looked at the fully activated Franxx opposing them.

"Hey, Zorome! Seriously, it's time to call it off! Call it off now before something bad happens!"

"You're gonna back down now Miku? After the scene we had just caused? You're part of it as well now. Can you imagine how you'll look if we both ran off like puppies with their tails between their legs right now?"

Miku swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and closed her eyes as she let Zorome take all responsibility for their upcoming actions. She just calmed herself as put her trust into Zorome in the hopes that he knew what he was doing.

It was a trust that was soon to be shattered into pieces.

Although she wouldn't find out so soon as Zorome put up the finest act of bravado he had ever performed in order to stir his emotions towards courage and increase the stakes as much as possible. His strategy was to basically force an confrontation through the potential of social embarrassment via trash talking. Both to increase the potential rewards if he achieved victory this day and to push his shaking instincts towards fight instead of flight. Ever since Hiro and Ichigo had transferred to Plantation 13, he had spent the entire time demeaning them.

And he wasn't going to stop now.

Little did Zorome know that he was essentially digging his own grave as he flipped Argentea's communication channel to "OPEN".

"Woooooooo~ Round of applause everyone! Look at that! The frauds actually did it! Maybe you aren't such a wuss after all, hehe. But you gotta do more than that you know? Can you actually move or are you just putting up a strong front hoping that the mock battle will be called off soon before your legs give way and you piss yourself in fear? Aggressor-sama?"

Zorome refused to stop his incessant mocking for even a single moment. He could not allow this chill to overtake his body and force Argentea to his knees. Without realizing it, Zorome had verbalized his own insecurities during his ranting.

The smirk on Delphinium's face had long faded into a passive, serious expression as it's teal blue eyes fixed onto Argentea with a dangerous glint. A look that did not give Miku any confidence in herself despite Zorome's constant belittling of Hiro and Ichigo. Miku felt a creeping feeling of unease even as Delphinium merely stood still clutching it's dual spear-swords in it's hands as it faced Argentea.

As Zorome settled into a silence when his stream of abused trailed off, he awaited Hiro's response. The air stilled with tension when it seemed there was no reply forthcoming from the pilots of Delphinium.

Until a sudden, jerking motion from Delphinium broke the tension as it harshly hunched over forward as if it was a puppet that had it's strings cut for the briefest of moments before it steadied itself back into it's upright standing position. Envy Shop, the twin magma spear-swords that Delphinium carried into battle against Klaxosaurs crashed onto the dirt of the Training Yard, causing a cloud of dust to kick up into the air.

Zorome howled in laughter as he took in the sight. They couldn't even maintain a standing position nor grip their weapons! How much of a farce could this trainer squadron be?

"Hahahahaha! Hey, Mr and Ms Elites, don't piss yourselves from working too hard! Seems like you can't even hold your weapons properly! Look everyone! That's how pathetic these losers are! Ahahahaha!"

As Zorome's shrill cackling continued to echo through the Training Yard, Nana grimaced at the sight of Delphinium dropping it's weapons. As she turned towards the doctor to repeat her request to call off the mock battle, she noticed the doctor had a knowing glint in his single remaining eye.

"Oh, switching to manual is he? Seems like he's gotten serious then. This will be interesting to watch."

 _Manual controls? What are those?_

In her entire time as the doctor's assistant and interacting with Franxx and their pilots, she had never heard of this "manual" that the doctor just spoke of. Luckily for Nana, she was going to get her question answered as Zero Two's patience was already wearing thin as she demanded answers from the doctor.

"What do you mean by manual? And why did Delphinium jerk like that? Just what is going on?"

Werner was more than happy to explain the pride of his creations during his time as the Commanding Officer of the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group.

"Manual controls. That's when the pilot deactivates the piloting assists provided by the Franxx OS. That jerking motion you saw from Delphinium was due to the swap over as the OS initialized the new control system. Normally, in the regular piloting control scheme, the Franxx OS assists the pilot in many functions ranging from auto-aim, prerecorded motion data, tracking of targets on it's radar and the distribution of magma energy to each of it's subsystems in the most optimal way that the OS decides."

"So why would one ever remove all of these advantages?"

"Because to some pilots, they see it as a form of hindrance that limits their freedom. With manual controls, a Stamen with enough skill is able to operate his Franxx in ways that the prerecorded motion data will never be able to achieve. Meanwhile, the Pistil is able to dictate the distribution of available magma energy as she wishes and with such, she is able to push the subsystems of her choice over the rated limits with a focused surge of magma energy."

"That sounds amazing, why aren't more pilots using the manual control scheme then?"

"Because it is exceptionally difficult to operate. What you're looking at has taken countless hours of specialized training to produce in extremely small, selective batches to achieve. It is absolutely impossible to reproduce this on a larger scale in Garden's training program for the regular ground forces. Not to mention how the sheer amount of stress that it places on the Pistil as she now has to regulate the Magma Fuel Converter at all times lest it suffers a critical meltdown without the OS automating the process for her. The Pistil also has to constantly calibrate and adjust the Franxx itself as the Stamen pilots it due to a lack of prerecorded motion data available."

Zero Two eyes widened at the revelation that the doctor had provided her. Delphinium's Magma Fuel Converter could suffer a meltdown at anytime?

"That's insanity!"

"It is. But through sheer hard work and effort, they have achieved the impossible. How many Pistils in the entire APE resource pool do you believe is able to handle such demands placed on their support role? I can only think of one." Werner continued,

"And she is in Delphinium right now."

* * *

"Switchover complete. Weapon modules have been successfully purged."

Magma weapons were used to defeat Klaxosaurs. Their super heated charges allowed one to pierce their resistant hides and crush their cores.

But Hiro wasn't fighting Klaxosaurs at the moment.

He was fighting an enemy Franxx.

Thus he did not require the use of Envy Shop which laid in the dirt of the Training Yard as it was discarded by it's users.

"Hiro. Take note, this is the first time that manual controls have been used on Delphinium. Goro has always used the automated controls whenever he piloted, thus I will need some time to calibrate the joints-"

Before Ichigo could finish her sentence, Delphinium slammed it's fists together with such force that it caused sparks to dance off it's iron.

"There. It's calibrated."

"...This is why the Garage mechanics hate you, you know?" Ichigo sighed.

"Well, we have our jobs, they have theirs. I'm just making sure they have work to do after all."

Hiro clenched and released Delphinium's fists multiple times as he made sure his "calibration" had worked. While he was running through the motions as Ichigo made her final checks, Zorome's face popped up on the main display once more.

"What's that you're doing? If you think disarming yourself will make me go easy on you, you thought wrong! I'm still gonna kick your ass like I just did, you wuss! I'm the Great Zorome after all-" However his blustering was cutoff by a soft, introspective voice.

"You know, back in Garden, my melee proficiency scores were the highest in it's history, surpassing even Nine-Alpha's. I don't think many people remember that I'm a close quarters combat expert when it comes to piloting Franxx." Hiro mused.

That was until Hiro lowered his head and narrowed his eyes at Zorome as he growled the finisher to his speech.

 **"Well then, let me remind you of it right now."**

Biting her lip, Ichigo felt a pleasurable shiver run down her spine as she struggled to control herself after hearing how manly Hiro sounded at that very moment.

 _She was going to need a fresh set of panties after this.  
_

Delphinium extended its right arm with it's palm opened and it's fingers pointed at a forty-five degree angle towards Argentea. At the same time, Delphinium's put it's right leg into a forward position as it shifted such that it's dominant side of it's body faced Argentea. Drawing back it's left fist to shoulder level, Delphinium closed it's fist as it was positioned beside it's cheek. Delphinium's belt of boosters all pointed behind it as they purred, ready to ignite at any moment and push out forward thrust.

"Huuuh? What the hell is that pose? Do you think you look cool or something?" Zorome sneered at the absurdity of it.

Hiro was going to charge at him without even a weapon? Had he lost his mind? Or did he plan to recover from his loss with the excuse that he fought unarmed against Argentea?

No matter, Zorome would offer no mercy. He would finish off the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group with his own hands.

 _And then Papa will finally acknowledge his existence._

A soft, dangerous smile graced Hiro's face as he spoke.

"A Franxx, doesn't have the form of humans just for show, you know. I'm gonna teach you it's utilities and possibilities."

"Yeah yeah whatever you say, you wuss. You gonna come or what?!"

"Oh-Kay, Jack Russel! Lets go for a ride through the skies!" Hiro's teasing voice mocked his opponent.

Zorome eye's narrowed in rage at the insult. Jack Russel... He was going to relentlessly degrade Hiro every waking moment after the mock battle for that.

"Miku! Keep your eyes forward and don't blink! He's gonna come straight for us without trying to dodge. It's an easy pattern, I'll gut him with Night Claw before he can even touch us!"

Miku nodded as she focused her eyes on Delphinium. She wasn't going to blink. She wasn't going to miss even a single step that Delphinium took. She was going to show that stuck up team leader that it wasn't alright to just favor Hiro over everyone else! She was a good Pistil too!

A frontal charge. This was easy. This was simple. It had no subtlety or tactics behind it. Just track it, give Zorome the knowledge on when he was required to time a thrust from Night Claw and Delphinium would be stopped dead in it's tracks in an instant.

 _Any moment now. I just need to focus my eyes. It can't be that-_

Delphinium disappeared from her line of sight.

"WHAT THE-!?"

* * *

Delphinium's boosters roared in the silence of the night sky. A giant plume of dirt, dust and smoke was left in it's wash as Delphinium exploded forwards.

"How can a..."

Goro furiously wiped his glasses on his sleeves to remove the dust that had layered on it's lenses.

"It's not possible for a..."

Mitsuru choked out as his uninterested persona that he tried so hard to cultivate was smashed in an instant as he was forced to acknowledge something impossible done by the person he hated the most.

"Franxx to move that fast!"

Zero Two's jaw dropped for the second time of the night as she saw her darling cross the Training Yard at a speed so fast it made her bones rattle from the vibrations Delphinium had left on the ground after it had kicked off.

All the while, her mind contained only a single, overriding thought-

 _Darling looked so damned hot._

* * *

"-FUUUUCK!? HOW THE FUCK CAN IT MOVE SO FAST!? ZOROME! DO SOMETHIIIIIING!"

Miku screeched her throat raw as she jerked back from surprise and begged Zorome to stop the incoming blue freight train of doom coming to wreck them.

Zorome's paralysis of fear was broken by Miku's loud scream. With his brain operating a million miles an hours in a thousand different directions, Zorome picked the first logical thought that raced through his mind.

If Delphinium was coming straight at them, no matter how fast, all he had to do was to put Night Claw out forward at center mass and Hiro would have impaled himself with his own charge.

 _That dumbass. If you think you can act cool at the Great Zorome's expense, you had another thing coming._

A grin spread across Zorome's face as he arrogantly felt like a bona fide genius in a world of absolute dumbasses. He put Argentea's right claw out forward at center mass and awaited Hiro to commit his own suicide.

Zorome's blind arrogance would soon pay it's price.

The sheer, soul crushing shock and violence of the impact that rocked through Argentea caused Miku to be forcefully ejected from her Pistil terminal even through the safety locks. Long streaks of red trailed her wrists and calves as the force of being literally ripped out of her Pistil terminal caused the safety locks to slice through her skin.

As Miku screamed in pain, her brain which was currently addled by the painkillers being injected into her from her Pistil suit dully noted that she would not feel anymore follow up attacks or endure any future injuries from the Franxx bond due to her forceful disconnection.

It was the greatest blessing, mercy and luck that she could have ever received considering what was coming up next.

Zorome however, was not so lucky.

As Miku's body flew backwards from the impact of Delphinium's shoulder ram into Argentea's chest, her body collided with Zorome's who was being literally pressed with such force against his Stamen seat that he felt his eyeballs sink into its caverns. The rear display screen of Miku's Pistil suit slammed against Zorome's nose, breaking it. Torrential streams of dark red blood immediately gushed from his twin nostrils as Zorome gurgled his pain through the blood filling up his throat from the busted nose he had just received.

"Told you I could have dodged it by tilting with a 7 degree correction."

"Big deal, he wasn't even compensating or trying to hit you. Hiro, focus. We're still engaged in battle."

"Right! Following up!"

As the shoulder ram by Delphinium carried both it and Argentea a few meters off the ground and still speeding in a straight line, Hiro unleashed a flurry of punches against Argentea's chest.

The sound of crumpling steel echoed throughout the night air as Hiro pummeled his opponent.

 _Four punches._

 _Damn, thought I could have gotten five in before we started touching the ground. Seems like I'm getting rusty._

The violent impacts caused by the rapid fire chain-punches of Delphinium shook Argentea's cockpit as it caused the already injured Stamen-Pistil duo to be disorientated from the sheer kinetic energy they were forced to absorb.

As Delphinium's initial charge slowed down and both Franxx started to nearly have their feet touch the soil of the Training Yard, Hiro followed up with the second part of his combination attack.

Hiro then aimed a sharp kick at Argentea's ankles. Tripping it and causing Argentea to stumble forward towards Delphinium. Without missing a beat, Delphinium grabbed Argentea by it's underarms in preparation for an overhead slam. Pushing Delphinium's servo joints to the point that Hiro winced at the groans of twisting steel, he trusted Ichigo's support skills to keep up with the demands he placed on their Franxx. It was the Pistil's job to keep up with the demands of her Stamen co-pilot. In that regard, Ichigo succeeded with flair, especially when it came to her beloved Hiro.

 _Ichigo being reliable as always. I can always count on her to be there for me when I need it.  
_

Hiro grinned to himself as he thanked the stars above that he had been blessed with such an absolute gem of a Pistil that allowed him to really unleash his full range of abilities.

"DEEYAH!"

Argentea was slammed into the ground with such impact that it caused an absolutely gigantic cloud of dirt and dust to explode outwards in a rolling wave. In fact, Argentea was slammed with such force that it bounced a couple of meters above the ground.

However, Ichigo did not have time to marvel at the overhead slam that Hiro had just performed as she prepared to reallocate magma energy to the boosters for the final sequence of attacks.

In Argentea's cockpit, both Zorome and Miku were flung out of the stamen seat the very moment Argentea was tripped. Their bodies were suspended in mid air until Delphinium had slammed Argentea to the ground with such force that it caused their brains to rattle in their skulls. As their bodies rose and pressed against the ceiling of Argentea's cockpit due to the kinetic energy and physics of the overhead slam, tears leaked from Zorome's eyes as he begged Hiro to stop while he choked on his own secretions and fluids.

Unfortunately, Hiro was having too much fun to stop midway. It had been a long time ever since he had a chance to really cut loose in a Franxx. The fact that his opponent was Zorome added another level of satisfaction to the beat down. As he called out to Ichigo to complete the attack pattern, he grinned to himself

 _Why didn't I do this earlier? This is so much fun._

"Ichigo!"

Delphinium's boosters purred once more as it gripped Argentea by it's neck, which was currently mid air from the ground slam that caused it to bounce,

"Delphinium, FULL BOOST!"

As Ichigo cried out, every booster on Delphinium roared to life as it carried Argentea upwards towards the night sky. By cutting the limiter on the Magma Fuel Converter, Ichigo was able to reroute every ounce of power to the boosters.

And it showed.

The deafening roar of the igniting boosters were proof of that as Delphinium shot skywards along with Argentea as it's unwilling passenger.

Meanwhile, in Argentea's cockpit, Zorome and Miku crashed to the floor. From the ceiling to the floor in an instant.

A sickening crunch followed through to denote the twin impacts of their bodies hitting the floor.

The impact on the back of Zorome's skull turned him unconscious, with the darkness finally providing him a respite from the pain. Miku's Pistil suit covered the rear of her head such that the kinetic foam absorbed most of the impact and thus, she did not suffer from Zorome's fate. However, the impact on her back was so harsh it caused large purple bruises to form even through the protection offered by the kinetic foam of her Pistil suit.

As Delphnium blasted through the sky with it's left hand gripped on Argentea's neck, Hiro drew back it's right fist as he prepared to deliver the finishing blow.

"Hiro! The arm servos are at eighty percent! Finish it now!"

"IT'S OVER FOR YOU!"

One punch. Smashing Argentea's chest.

Two punches.

Throwing in one more just for good measure, Hiro snarled in his mind.

 _Just because Zorome made Ichigo cry._

Three in total.

And with that said and done, Delphinium released it's grip on Argentea's neck and allowed it to drop to the Earth. With gravity now in effect, Argentea helplessly spiraled downwards towards the ground. Meanwhile, Delphinium continued it's flight path with it's right fist stretched out as the remaining thrust of the boosters carried it forward for a little longer.

 _Like a shooting star blazing a trail through the night sky.  
_

Turning from his position in the Stamen's seat, Hiro glanced down at the Franxx that had just crash landed onto the ground of the Training Yard.

"Return to the Earth where you belong, Zorome. We'll stay right here, because-" As Ichigo's voice joined his to complete the sentence in unison,

 **"These are the sprint of our wings."**

Hiro felt a warm squeeze on his hand.

He squeezed back.

* * *

As the Plantation's medical staff removed Zorome and Miku from Argentea's cockpit on stretchers to relocate them to the infirmary,

Zero Two glared at the most disgusting sight she would ever witness. Nothing she experienced, not even from her time on the front lines where she saw pilots torn to pieces and their Franxx being burnt out husks on the battlefield could prepare her for something so physically repulsive.

Darling was descending from Delphinium on it's automatic ladder.

Except he wasn't alone.

That blue-haired bitch was wrapped around his arm like she had owned it.

 _And darling didn't seem to notice._

Noting how Ichigo was glancing towards her, Zero Two bared her fangs towards her _darling-stealer_ in a attempt to intimidate her.

That was until Ichigo did something that Zero Two truly did not expect from the blue-haired girl considering what she had came to learn about her over the past couple of days,

She smirked at Zero Two in response.

Zero Two's nostrils flared in irritation at her declaration of victory.

 _Oh, she was going to have a nice talk with darling soon. A realllllllly nice and sweet talk._

 _If darling had an good excuse that is._

Zero Two cooed to herself as she prepared to confront her beloved darling for his infidelity.


	9. Chapter 8

"...and moving on, construction of the Ehrenburg Satellite Cannon is proceeding on schedule. We expect to move into the field testing phase in the next month or so."

"Excellent. Keep up the good work. Ensure there continue to be no delays and you shall be richly rewarded."

"Sir!"

With a crisp salute, the white uniformed attendant left the boardroom.

"...Are you sure about this?"

"Cease your worryings Tarsier, we must show the Princess that Humanity has the conviction to turn this planet into glass before we would even consider surrendering our home world to these beasts."

"Werner would disapprove if he knew."

"So be it. He is not the only one who has back up plans of their own. We have our own scenario."

An eerie smile broke across Papa's face as Cosmos continued it's usual orbit around Earth.

* * *

Hiro winced as the needle left his skin, he never got used to medical examinations even though they were a routine part of being a Parasite. He hated how the rooms always smelt of disinfectant and how the medical staff liked to poke him with pointy needles. The worst portion was the blood tests, while the needle was only a minor discomfort, he could never peel his eyes off the transparent test tube as it filled with his dark red blood.

Even though the rational part of his brain told him that the clear tube which contained his blood carried only 20ml of his blood or less, it always looked like a sickeningly large quantity whenever the medical orderly swirled it around.

"That's the last of it. Code 016, you can take your leave."

Hopping off the medical bay, Hiro eagerly left the room. As the automated door slid open, he was surprised to see Ichigo waving back at him from the waiting area of the medical bay.

 _She really does care about me, doesn't she?_

Hiro felt a warmth surge through his heart. Pondering for a moment at how lucky he was to have someone as dedicated as her around him, Hiro found himself waving back with a smile.

"Are you all done?" she asked.

"Yup, they said they didn't find anything wrong."

"That's wonderful to hear."

As their short conversation trailed off, they stood next to each other in comfortable silence as they waited for the elevator to arrive. After a while, Hiro found himself whistling to fill the air and he noticed with a flutter in his heart how Ichigo started to subtly nod her head in time with the sound. Finally, Ichigo turned to look at him as she started to say something that seemed important until she was cut off by the voice of Nana over the intercoms.

"Hiro, after this, I'm going to file a req-"

"Ichigo, get ready."

With an apology, Ichigo stepped into the elevator and waved him goodbye as the doors closed shut.

Hiro mirrored the motion.

* * *

As Ichigo entered the Plantation's command center for her scheduled meeting with Hachi and Nana, she overheard Nana,

"He's the first Stamen that's ever piloted with her and taken so little damage." Nana observed.

"It must also be noted that he succeeded in a common connection with Delphinium as well, so we can say for sure that his piloting ability has fully returned."

Hachi added his thoughts to the pool as he read the detailed report of yesterday's mock battle.

"Even so... The numbers he posted when piloting Strelizia were the highest in it's history. None of her previous Stamens managed to coax out anything close to these numbers we're looking at. Even if we assume this is due to his skill at operating a Franxx, we still don't know for sure if this abnormality would carry on beyond their 3rd flight."

"So the only thing now..." Hachi mused.

"Is to wait for APE's approval."

As Nana finished, Ichigo eyes widened.

So it was true that Zero Two had caused all the deaths of her partners by the 3rd flight! This went beyond mere pettiness at their rivalry for Hiro's affections. Hiro's life WAS in danger if he continued piloting with her!

 _She needed to separate them as quickly as possible._

 _For Hiro's safety._

But her heart knew the truth, no matter how much she tried to pretend otherwise.

"Ichigo reporting, I'm here for my scheduled meeting."

"Ah, Ichigo! You wanted to see us?"

"I overheard your conversation, is it true that Hiro's in danger from piloting with Zero Two?"

Nana sighed, of all the people to overhear something like that about Hiro's welfare and safety, it had to be the most troublesome person.

"Potentially. We don't know for sure yet. The main issue that causes us to be unsure is Hiro's body. Or more specifically, how healthy it seems after his piloting session with Zero Two in Strelizia."

"What do you mean?"

"Historically, every single Stamen that has piloted with Zero Two has suffered immediate health issues after even a single piloting session. The weaker Stamens were outright killed while the more resilient ones had to be bedridden for at least a couple of days. Meanwhile, Hiro continues to bounce around like normal with only a couple of superficial bruises on his body which was caused by his safety breach of piloting without a Stamen suit to protect him from the G-forces." Nana continued.

"Basically, we're in uncharted territory. I've passed all relevant information to APE HQ along with Code 016's application to be restored to the active duty roster which is still currently processing and awaiting HQ approval as we speak. Also, Doctor Franxx has put in an formal request for Code 016 to be Zero Two's official partner-"

An emotional outburst from Ichigo cut him off.

"He did what!? You shouldn't let them pilot together! Hiro's safety is at stake!"

"Ichigo, it is not up to you or us who gets to decide who Code 016 pilots with. That depends on HQ and HQ alone. Besides, Code 016 numbers prove that he is a stunning match for Strelizia."

Upon hearing Hachi's cold voice shut her down, Ichigo gritted her teeth in frustration. This wasn't fair! Hiro was finally able to pilot once more and she was now being told that his Pistil was going to be Zero Two instead of her? Even though Hiro was able to pilot on normal conditions with anyone once more?

She wouldn't stand for it.

Not while Hiro's life was in danger if he kept piloting with that homewrecker.

Sucking in a deep breath and steeling herself, Ichigo placed her final card on the table.

"Strategic Officer of Plantation 13. I, Code 015, Team Leader of Plantation 13's Franxx squad, hereby file a formal request to APE HQ for a partner transfer. I wish to be paired with Code 016."

A crashing sound filled the air as Nana slammed her hands onto the console banks the very moment she heard Ichigo finish her speech. In her opinion, Ichigo was being extremely selfish and irrational, like she always did whenever it came to matters regarding Hiro.

She had to be told off that she was harming Plantation's 13's Franxx squad with her selfishness.

"Are you being serious?! Ichigo, if you do this, have you considered how it would hurt the entire squad and reduce their combat capabilities? If you pilot with Hiro, that would mean Goro would need a new Pistil. The only Pistil available in that situation would be Zero Two. You would risk Goro's life over Hiro's in that case? Retract your transfer application at once! Seriously, how can Goro put up with someone as selfish as you, I'll never know."

Forest green eyes widened as her mind processed the implications of what she was suggesting to her commanders. Ichigo felt a creeping wave of guilt roll over her body as she came to realize how selfish she had become when it came to Hiro.

 _But I can't help it, It's Hiro. And I never wanted to be Goro's Pistil in the first place if I had a choice in the matter._

Unperturbed by the entire commotion, Hachi interrupted the tension with his usual emotionless voice,

"Code 015, do you still wish to file your current transfer request?"

"...No. I will retract my request for a partner transfer."

With tears welling in her eyes as she realized she was powerless to block Hiro and Zero Two from piloting together using her status as Team Leader, Ichigo spun around and left the command center.

"Doctor, were you listening in all this while?"

As Nana queried, the image of Doctor Franxx appeared on the intercom.

"Leave her be, she's still growing up after all. We have more important things to settle than a teenage girl's jealousy."

"What a troublesome person."

Nana sighed as she looked towards the console which displayed Hiro's current status.

 **CODE 016**

 **PILOT STATUS: PROCESSING**

* * *

"Whatcha reading, Darling~?"

Hiro froze in his seat at the library's sofa as he felt a warm breath tickle his ears. He remembered why he was hiding away in the library in an effort to dodge Zero Two.

But she had found him anyway.

 _I'm dead._

Without waiting for his response, Zero Two leap over the back of the sofa and landed beside him with a poof. An arm casually looped around his waist as Zero Two started to gently scratch his abdomen while she rested her head on his shoulders. Hiro couldn't help but enjoy the sweet scent that wafted from her as she nuzzled her cheeks against his.

 _I'm so dead. But she smells so nice, I wonder if she uses anything special?_

 _I'll ask her from the afterlife._

Hiro's entire body remained tensed up as he allowed Zero Two to snuggle against him on the sofa. Even though Zero Two felt warm, soft and affectionate as usual, Hiro's biological instincts, honed over 2000 years of human evolution screamed at him that something was wrong. Even if said danger was currently giving him a kiss on his cheeks every other minute.

And also smelled really nice.

And had really pretty horns.

And was soft and nice to touch, helped by the fact that she seemed to love physically clinging onto him.

 **And always looked at him like he was a piece of meat to devour.**

 _Alright lets stall for time._

"It's a... It's a picture book. 'Sleeping Beauty'."

"Ehhhhhh? Picture books huh? I got one of those myself, wanna see it sometime?"

 _DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER_

"That... uh, that sounds great!"

"It's a promise then, I'll see you in my room later-"

Well that doesn't sound so bad-

"Alone~"

 _ABORT ABORT ABORT ABORT ABORT_

As Hiro mentally self destructed, he never noticed how Zero Two had a knowing glint in her eye as she continued to cuddle with him.

"Hey~ Does it feel good?"

"...Uh?"

"My skin silly~ I took a bath just for you. See? Isn't it all soft and smooth?"

"...Yup, it's kinda nice..."

Hiro squeaked out in the tiniest voice he could muster as he felt the blood rush to his cheeks as he started to feel Zero Two's scratching on his abdomen become more insistent.

"You should take a bath as well, darling. Because you reek."

Wait what? Did he smell bad? He was pretty sure he didn't because he had a shower just a couple of hours ago and his clothes were freshly prepared this morning. Neither did he participate in much physical activity, all he did was go for a medical check and hide away in the library. There was no way he "reeked", did he?

As Hiro fretted over his supposed lack of personal hygiene, he would soon find out what Zero Two truly meant by that.

"...What?"

"You reek...of infidelity, Darling."

 _Oh._

 _Shit._

 _I'm. So. Dead._

"Ze..Ze...Zero Two! I can explain about yesterday-"

Hiro felt a finger press hard against his lips, preventing them from continuing his attempt to grovel for mercy.

"Shhhhh. Shhhhh. Hey, lets not talk about that shall we? I just want to enjoy some time with my darling **right now**."

Zero Two cooed in a voice full of sugar, honey and promised death. A voice that set Hiro's cheeks on fire and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand.

 _Goro, I leave the rest to you, take care of Ichigo for me._

"Lo-lo-look, I can explain, I swear!"

With a swipe of her hands, the picture book was knocked away and Hiro was tackled into the sofa as Zero Two straddled him. Her toned legs wrapped around his hips and squeezed tightly, causing Hiro to suck in a breath from the pleasurable sensations he was experiencing.

However, as Zero Two's hands went under his shirt onto the bare skin of his tummy, he realized the pleasure wasn't about to last.

"You seemed to have had a looooooot of fun with Ichigo last night. Didn't you~?"

"No I was just trying to prove myself to Zoro- AHHHHH THAT HURTS-!"

With a sharp stab of pain, Hiro squealed out as he felt Zero Two pinch his tummy _hard_.

"Hmmm? I don't think that's what you're supposed to say, Darling~"

"Uh...uh... I had way more fun when I piloted with you, Zero TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO STOP STOP STOOOP!"

Seriously! She was pinching him way too harshly! His skin was totally gonna be red marked after this!

"So I'm just 'more fun', huh Darling~? That's all I am to you? Just a plaything~?"

"No no no! You're the best Zero Two! You're the best, you're the BESSSSSSST AHAAH AHHHHHH STOOOOOOOOP!"

"Best in?" she cooed.

"BEST IN THE WORLD! BEST IN THE UNIVERSE! NO ONE CAN COMPARE TO YOU ZERO TWO!"

Releasing the skin she had gripped between her fingers, giving an affectionate stroke over the spot she had pinched as she did so, Zero Two grinned.

"See? That wasn't so hard, darling. Here's your reward~"

With a gentle caress on his cheek, Zero Two leaned into Hiro. Her long pink hair fell over her shoulders and framed his face, shutting out all outside light sources. In the warm darkness provided by her hair, the only thing Hiro could see was the shine of her loving green eyes.

As Zero Two exhaled her hot breaths on his face, Hiro truly felt like she was the only thing that existed in his entire universe.

"...I knew it."

Another exhale touched his lips which made his body shiver in pleasure.

"...Eh?"

"Darling is actually pretty pervy huh? It's hard to tell behind your efforts to be calm and stoic. But I noticed darling~"

"Noticed what...?"

As Zero Two leaned in even more such that their foreheads were touching and her horns were brushing against it,

"That the sweet fragrance of a girl makes your heart beat faster."

The blush flooding his cheeks made Hiro dizzy for a moment as Zero Two grinned at him,

"Darling is so cute. I love it whenever I close in on you and you freeze up while your heart explodes in your chest. You're simply perfect for me, darling~"

"This is so embarrassing..."

"That's alright! The Doctor said Parasites were better being a little pervy anyway!"

"I hope you don't find it weird or anything."

Scratching his cheek and looking away in embarrassment, Hiro mumbled.

"Hey darling, wanna know something?"

"Yeah...?"

"I like it when you perv on me."

That face he had made when she said that was delectable, Zero Two thought to herself.

But it was still the truth, darling was the only person who she actually enjoyed knowing he looked at her in that way. She wanted him to only look at her and no one else. Zero Two then noticed something which caused her to giggle.

All this time when their faces were so close to touching, darling's eyes kept glancing at her lips.

 _Hehe, so that's what he wants_

Using her hands to hold his in place, she felt Hiro nervously fidget under his now restricted range of movement.

"Sooooo...Did you want something from me?"

 _Come on darling, say the words._

"...Please kiss me."

His watery eyes lit a fire in Zero Two's heart as he said that. She bit her lip as a wave of desire rushed through her body from such a honest, heartfelt admission from her darling.

"Nobody's ever said such embarrassing things to me before."

"I-it's a first for me, too."

Zero Two cheesed at that. So she was his first huh?

 _That felt really good to know_

"You want me to kiss you, huh?"

"...Please do."

 _Time to tease Darling juuuuust a little bit more._

Stretching her neck and taking a slow gaze at the deserted library around them, Zero Two asked once more in a teasing tone,

"Let me hear it one more time."

She heard darling make a squeak of embarrassment. But he didn't give up.

 _Yessss that's my darling for you_

"Kiss me like you did in Strelizia once more!"

Who was she to deny her darling when he made such an eager, heartfelt request?

As Zero Two pulled him close, a sneaky thought ran through her mind.

 _I wonder if he's experienced kissing with tongues yet?_

Time to find out.

* * *

"So, do we know what's HQ decision regarding Hiro's reinstatement to the active duty roster?" Futoshi spoke out.

"He'll probably be reinstated considering he succeeded in yesterday's mock battle."

Ikuno replied as she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. If Ichigo was already this obsessed with Hiro now, what was going to happen after Hiro rejoined the squad?

"He just got lucky that I had my guard down that's all, he should be glad I went easy on him." waved Zorome.

His voice was nasally from the nose brace he was forced to wear along with the packing he had received for his broken nose. Zorome, it seemed, was a sore loser as well. Scoffing at such an obvious lie, Mitsuru sarcastically took apart Zorome for his bluff.

"It doesn't seem that way to me, considering how busted the both of you look."

"Huuuh? That was all Miku's fault. She didn't support me well enough and Hiro managed to get one past me, that's all."

"Excuse me? You were the one that got us dragged into this mess in the first place!"

Miku, with bandages wrapped around her wrists and calves, yelled angrily at Zorome for shifting the blame.

"Well it's obvious how much the difference the quality of a Pistil makes while piloting if you compare the results, that's all I'm saying."

"...You're seriously unbelievable."

As Miku scowled at Zorome , Kokoro tried to break up the incoming fight.

"Don't fight, it'll affect your numbers!"

"Then again, I'm not sure who's Hiro going to pilot with now. Considering Zero Two is the only free Pistil available." Ikuno wondered.

"I can imagine the fuss Ichigo is making right now about that. Don't you think she's being too biased towards Hiro? I get that they have history going back to their previous squadron, but she's supposed to be our leader as well. I don't know how Goro puts up with her as her partner when all she does is act like she's Hiro's Pistil all the time."

Miku grumbled out her frustrations at what she saw as favoritism from their Team Leader. She was about to continue until she was cut off by a voice behind her.

"Don't bring Goro into this. It's none of his business." Ichigo coldly stated.

"Eh? What's this about me?"

"If Hiro is reinstated once more, the combat capabilities of this squad will significantly improve, that's all there is to it."

"'That's all there is to it', she says. And who is he going to pilot with? Ever since we lost Naomi, we're short on a Pistil." Miku pointed out her hypocrisy.

"The more combat capable Parasites we have in the squad, the more flexibility we'll have if one of us gets sick or wounded. Even if we're currently unbalanced right now in Stamens and Pistils, Hiro being inducted back in our squad will be a real advantage."

"Oh get off it already, 'Leader', you just got a taste of piloting with him once more and now you don't want to let it end, that's all there is to it."

"I'm just considering it from the perspective of a Team Leader. It's up to you if you wish to believe it or not."

"Tsk, now I see why Zorome always gives you a hard time."

"Ichigo." Mitsuru cut in.

"We all understand why you would stick up for Hiro, considering your history with him."

"That's not true! I'm doing my best to be as unbiased as possible!"

"Can you really be unbiased? Considering how you two live in different worlds as compared to us regular Parasites. Have you ever considered our feelings when we were told to accept a person who ditched us at first chance to run away and live the celebrity lifestyle?"

"That's..!"

"Sure, you two might be 'special'. In fact, I'll give you a free pass because you spent the previous year down in the dirt with us piloting Franxx. But Hiro? He didn't even have that. From the moment he came to Plantation 13, he ran away from his problems. Furthermore, now it seems like he'll be reinstated to active duty and we might be looking at a new Team Leader considering Hiro's previous position. I'll say this right now, I will not accept someone who ditched us all this time to come and be our new leader."

"You don't know that for sure!"

"But you wouldn't have a problem with that would you? If Hiro came back and Hachi decided to make him leader, you would gladly put out for him in an instant, like you always do."

"That's not true!"

"Honestly, the both of you are pathetic in your own way. I've been disgusted with the both of you ever since you ditched us for that elite squadron."

A hand on Ichigo's shoulders stopped her from slapping Mitsuru where he stood. Goro merely shook his head at her as if to say,

 _Just let it go._

With a huff, Ichigo stormed out of the common room.

* * *

"We've received sortie orders from HQ." Hachi said.

"H-huh? We're going out to fight already? Futoshi asked nervously.

"Relax, don't get so nervous." Nana reassured them. "You won't be fighting something like the one that attacked the Plantation during the ceremony."

"Thank goodness." Miku sighed in relief.

"We would have liked to eased you in, but unfortunately, we can't afford to."

The squad looked focused and serious as they listened in to Nana's explanation. Ichigo however, was looking at the far end of the briefing room's semi-circular conference area. Goro followed her gaze to find a raven haired boy with a pink haired Pistil clinging to his arm. Hiro and Zero Two were in their regular clothes as compared to the rest of the squad who were in their pilot suits.

Her glare seemed to roast anything in it's path but it didn't seem that the both of them had noticed it.

Nana continued as a 3D hologram of a Magma mining shaft came into display in the center of the briefing room.

"You'll be facing a Conrad-class Klaxosaur." She looked towards Hachi to elaborate.

"It's a bit smaller than a Franxx." He looked towards Ichigo who took the cue.

"Weaker than even a Standard Franxx in a one-on-one scenario, but all the same, it shouldn't be underestimated. It's still dangerous in the right situation."

"My thanks to the STFG. Now, Klaxosaurs are attracted by Magma energy reactions and appear in their vicinity. Lately, they've been showing up deep in a level 8 mine on the outskirts and wreaking havoc. Even the automated turrets are having trouble dealing with them. Also, Strelizia will NOT be part of this operation."

Hiro grimaced, this wasn't right at all. Keeping Strelizia in reserve was a massive waste of their potential firepower. He would have understood keeping a reserve for unexpected situations like on the front lines, but this was a backwater Plantation in the rear echelon.

"Interrogative, why aren't we deploying all units possible to crush the threat?"

Nana glanced over as she answered Hiro,

"Firstly, the garrison squad has to defend the Plantation by themselves eventually. If they can't even eliminate this level of Klaxosaur, they won't be able to handle any future threats. Secondly, Strelizia and Zero Two fall under the direct command of the APE council. They exist on a separate chain of command and we do not have the authority to issue sortie orders for them. Any more questions?"

"No, I understand."

"Good. Ichigo will have field command. Ichigo, do you have any closing comments about the coming operation?"

"We have superior firepower and a larger force. We will succeed."

Hiro felt a poke on his tummy. He turned and saw Zero Two's nose scrunched up as she grumbled at Ichigo's short declaration.

"Oooo~ Look at her go, Ms Honor Student. Bleh."

Hiro rolled his eyes and bopped Zero Two on her head. This girl really was sometimes too catty for her own good. He knew how much pressure was on Ichigo's shoulders to pull through a team of green pilots through their first combat op. He could already see the strain forming on her forehead as she ran through the details.

"Uweh! Darling?!"

"Shush and play nice, Zero Two. You aren't cute when you're mean."

 **"But you like it when I'm mean to you, Darling~"** Zero Two closed in and purred under her breath.

Blood rushed to Hiro's cheeks as he immediately moved to cover Zero Two's mouth, shushing her in the process. Really, did this girl have no shame at all? Using "that" voice on him in public...

Unaware of what was going on over at the corner, Nana nodded at Ichigo's declaration and issued her orders.

"All hands, prepare to board."

Ichigo threw him an apologizing look as she moved past him on the way out. As if it said,

 _I'm not piloting with Goro by choice._

Hiro felt the grip on his arm tighten.

Painfully.

He didn't know what expression Zero Two was making beside him.

But the hissing sounds gave him an hint.

Finally, the door to the briefing room slid shut with a hiss and it was just him and Zero Two along with the Plantation's command staff.

"Eh...Zero Two?"

"Hmmmm, what's the matter, daaaaaarling?"

"I don't want you to get the wrong idea, I really... really appreciate your feelings but..."

"...Darling?"

Her worried gaze made him feel like his heart had been stabbed.

"But it's actually starting to hurt. Like, a lot."

"Oh! I'm sorry darling, I didn't notice!"

Hiro started petting her head to calm her down.

He tried to avoid the weird looks that Nana and Hachi were giving him as Zero Two frantically nuzzled her cheek against his aching arm.

* * *

"I'm counting on you Ichigo, you're the more experienced one."

"Don't say that, we're partners aren't we? Lets get this done together."

A fist bump and they were off initiating the startup sequence for Delphinium.

Some duos, on the other hand, weren't as smooth sailing.

"What's wrong, Chlorophytum?" Hachi cut in on the communications.

"Doesn't look like Ikuno can do this."

"I'm nearly there! Just give me a bit!"

Ikuno panted and pleaded. She had to go on this mission. It was her first real operation with Ichigo alongside her. She had to make sure Ichigo came back safe and sound. She couldn't fail. She couldn't -

"Don't bother. It's over. I'm calling it here."

Ikuno's heart shattered into tiny pieces and Chlorophytum completely powered down from her downturn of emotions. Further proving Mitsuru right.

"Chlorophytum's para-capacity is below required levels and dropping even further." An operator from the command center notified Hachi.

"No good huh...? Alright. Chlorophytum will stay behind. The other three will go without it."

As quickly as he had thrown Hiro and Naomi under the bus in the past year. He filed "Ikuno" and "Mitsuru" under the failure cabinet as well.

"Roger that." Ikuno muttered.

Hiro looked towards Nana and pointed out,

"We've lost an entire unit before even sortieing, the pilots of Argentea are injured, that leaves us with 3 working Franxx on the field. With one of them being piloted by recovering pilots. This is going to be tough."

Nana didn't reply, but the tick forming on her right eye told Hiro he had gotten through.

* * *

"What a big hole, how deep does it go?" Kokoro asked.

"This is nuts. It's a monster pipe."

"These are used to extract the magma reserves. Mines like these are crucial to supplying our forces. We need to get it back up and running as quick as possible." Ichigo explained.

"Head down to level 8 and eliminate all Klaxosaurs." Hachi ordered though the wireless communications.

"Ignite your magma weapons. Locate the core and pierce it with the magma tipped portion of your weapon. That's the only way to completely eliminate a Klaxosaur." instructed Ichigo.

"Roger!" replied the pilots of Argentea and Genista.

"Delphinium on point. Argentea on my left. Genista to the rear, fire support as necessary. Move!"

Ichigo issued her orders for her team to form up. All the while, she felt a sinking feeling of unease crawl through her. She had expected to be hit by the Conrad-class the moment they descended into the mine. Klaxosaurs weren't known for skirmish tactics or ambushes, they just charged straight at you and made you take them head on.

So as they went deeper in the mine, her feeling of unease grew ever greater.

* * *

"What happened? Are you feeling unwell?"

Nana tried her best to gently inquire the pilots of Chlorophytum for the reasons of their failure to connect. She already knew that they were probably blaming themselves for not being out in the field with their team. Thus, there was no need to be harsh on them.

Besides, they were her charges as well, and she had a soft spot for them.

"No...That's not it." Ikuno replied.

"It's alright, you've always been a bit unstable, I'm sure you can bounce back from this. I'll run some tests on you tomorrow just to be sure."

It was then Mitsuru spoke up.

"If I may... is it possible that we have compatibility issues?"

Ikuno gave a frown at such bluntness by Mitsuru. It made her feel devalued and terrible.

"Alot of Parasites experience this at first. It isn't grounds for splitting you two up." Nana reassured.

But Mitsuru wasn't convinced.

"Is that so?"

He glanced at Zero Two who was doing her best to tickle Hiro into submission over at the conference area as a slight smile came across his lips.

* * *

"We have visual on the Conrad-class, moving to engage."

Ichigo nodded to Genista.

"Put a round through it. Then stay here and provide overwatch."

Genista took aim and fired a large high explosive shell at the Conrad-class currently feasting itself on a puddle of magma fuel that had leaked from a fuel tank.

The sound of explosions filled the mine as Genista's aim rang true.

Twitching it's legs as it was knocked on it's back from the explosion, the Conrad-class was now stunned and ripe for the kill.

"It's stunned! Argentea on me, close in and eliminate!"

"Roger!"

Delphinium charged in first and stabbed the Conrad-class with Envy Shop. Lifting it overhead, Ichigo tossed the Conrad-class to Argentea to finish it off.

"I GOT IT!"

Argentea yelled as it sunk it's claws into the Conrad-class and forced it to the ground once more.

"Hehe, look at me, I'm STILL the Great Zorome!"

Zorome's posing was interrupted by a wet squishing sound as Delphinium immediately came over and pierced the core of the Conrad-class. Glaring at Argentea, Ichigo lectured,

"Stop fooling around. Take out the core as soon as you can. Don't pull stunts like this again."

Before Zorome could snap back at her, there was a loud crashing sound as Argentea was attacked from behind by a second Conrad-Class. It quickly wrapped around Argentea and electrocuted it. The shock of it causing Miku to pass out and disconnecting Argentea.

"Hey Miku! Miku! Snap out of it! Hey!"

"Tsk." Ichigo groaned out.

This was bad, they've stumbled into an entire nest it seemed. No wonder everything was so quiet when they had first descended. The Klaxosaurs were merely gathering numbers to swarm them.

"Dephinium, performing retrieval of Argentea! Genista, provide covering fire!"

"Damn you!" Futoshi yelled as he started pumping rounds into the multiple Conrad-classes that started to swarm around them.

"Prepare to fall back to a defensive position! We'll hold out there until reinforcements arrive!" Ichigo ordered as she started to drag Argentea back towards the safety of Genista's overwatch position.

"Team Leader to HQ! We're being overrun! We're currently falling back to a defensive position and barricading ourselves. We require reinforcements!"

* * *

Back in the briefing room of Plantation 13, Nana felt chills run down her spine as she saw the red dots multiply on the display.

"This is bad, who knew we would encounter an entire nest... Was our information wrong?" Nana muttered.

"Don't worry, just send me and darling out, and we'll run over everything for you."

"We don't have clearance to-"

"Are you sure you want to stick to your petty chain of command? Your precious squad is going to be wiped out you know?"

Zero Two smirked at Nana and dared her to disagree.

Hiro didn't exactly like Zero Two's attitude at the moment but he had bigger problems on his plate. Namely how to prevent his friends from being wiped out on their very first mission.

"Send Zero Two and me to help! We'll get them out of there!"

"That's not possible." Hachi shut down Hiro's pleadings.

Hachi... What excuse do you have now? You by the book inflexible-

"Your piloting status is still under review by APE. Until we have approval from HQ to put you back on the active duty roster, Plantation 13 cannot be responsible for any harm that might come to you from an unauthorized launch. Please understand, our heads will roll if we got the leader of the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group killed on an unauthorized sortie."

"Is this really the time to play politics?"

"This isn't politics, it's just our legal liability at stake."

Hiro was frustrated by the rules and red tape that seemed to bar his every step of getting back into a Franxx's cockpit. He just wanted to be treated like a normal Parasite.

To be sortied to fight with his friends.

To die with his friends.

"Well, I think they both know what their only option really is if they want to preserve this Plantation's garrison squad. So just send me out already. I want to pilot with my darling."

Zero Two glared at Nana, who to her credit, refused to back down to the taller girl.

"You got that? Let me ride with my darling."

"We are NOT in charge of your sortie orders. Stop asking. If you want to be with your darling so much, I recommend taking a walk in Mistilteinn."

Nana stood her ground as she returned Zero Two's glare.

The tension between the two seemed to thicken and reach a boiling point until Doctor Franxx's image appeared on the main display of the briefing room to intervene, breaking the deadlock.

"Send Strelizia out. I will authorize it and take full responsibility for any damages incurred."

Zero Two let out a breath and flashed a smile on her face.

"You hear that darling? I'm gonna take you for a ride-"

Until Hachi's monotone crashed her mood to rock bottom once more.

"Code 016 is not allowed to be sortied."

Hiro's temper, already fraying from all the bureaucracy from the past week, flared and his self control failed to keep himself in check as he unleashed his anger at Hachi.

"Oh what is it now you damn robot? Your entire garrison is about to wiped out and you still want to stick to the rulebook? Wake up, Hachi!"

Hachi , unmoved as always, started to reply.

 _I'm not even surprised, screw this. This joke has gotten way too far._

"While Strelizia has been cleared by Doctor Franxx to sortie, that doesn't change the fact that you, Code 016, is still awaiting approval in regards to your piloting status. Only a Stamen in the active duty roster is allowed to pilot with Code 002."

Mitsuru eyes lit up as he realized that he could take advantage of the opportunity currently offered to him. A smirk grew on his face. This was it! This was his chance to shine! He would pilot Strelizia, save everyone and do it without breaking a sweat with the power of that bitch, Zero Two. Everyone knew that she possessed immense potential as a Pistil, to the point that she could carry Hiro, a Stamen who was out of the piloting scene for an entire year into one shotting a Moho-class Klaxosaur.

This was it! His big break!

"Seeing as I'm the only officially registered Stamen on the active duty list in this room. I volunteer to pilot Strelizia in Hiro's stead."

The raw hatred and fury packed into Zero Two's glare could melt an iceberg. But Mitsuru didn't flinch.

 _In the end you're just a pretty bitch for me to use._

 **"I refuse."**

Zero Two growled her rejection. She would never pilot with anyone else. Ever. Again.

Darling or nothing.

 _Darling or death._

Mitsuru's smirk grew ever wider.

"But you don't have a choice! You've heard Hachi. The only Stamen you're getting today is me."

If anything, the rage on Zero Two's face doubled as she tensed up and prepared to pounce on Mitsuru and beat him into a bloody mess into the ground. How dare this little shit tell him to pilot with her? She would rather slice her belly open and rip her own intestines out with her bare hands than to pilot with anyone but darling. In fact, why pull out her intestines when she could pull his out instead?

Zero Two had a feral grin on her face as she got ready to tear Mitsuru apart.

Until she felt a warm hug encase her from behind.

 _That scent_

 _That mixture of softness and firmness_

 _That voice that whispered in her ears to calm down_

 _Ahhh... Darlingggg_

As her body shuddered from the pleasure, Zero Two found herself closing her eyes and soaking in the sensations of her darling's touch. A lovely smile grew across her face as she started cooing about how much she loved his hugs.

Unbeknownst to her, Mitsuru was watching every second of it and his smirk grew yet even wider, if that was possible.

 _She's just an animal to be tamed after all. Heh._

"Strelizia is no ordinary Franxx, if you're not used to connecting-"

"I'll be fine" Mitsuru replied as he waved Nana's concerns off.

"Even Hiro here could ride it after going out of practice for a year. If it's that easy, anyone can do it."

Nana closed her eyes and mulled over the situation for a moment. Finally, she came to a decision. Her eyes opened and looked pointedly at Zero Two who was still snuggling into Hiro's arms.

"Zero Two?"

Zero Two's eyes snapped open and glared at Nana. Her canines were bared at the old hag that had just interrupted her darling time. Stupid old hag with her oversized cow breasts fit only for milking.

 _Darling likes mine better, you cow._

 **"What."**

"You will pilot with Mitsuru and rescue the squad. There is to be no further discussion about this."

Ahhhh... So that's how it was going to be. She was supposed to pilot with this "Mitsuru" because he was the only "qualified" Stamen here right?

 _So all she had to do was "unqualify" him then._

As she peeled herself off darling's arms, she felt a pang of sadness fill her heart as Zero Two heard the pitched intake of surprise from darling behind her.

 _Just a little bit darling, please endure it._

Putting on her best sexy walk, Zero Two sauntered up to Mitsuru. Hips swinging, heels clacking, chest puffed out to emphasize the breasts she was so proud of. She even bit her lip and put on her best seductive face.

She felt disgusted at how his eyes widened and traveled down her body. Feasting. Savoring. Enjoying.

Zero Two fought the urge to retch.

 _Just endure it, it'll be worth it in the end._

Her heart felt completely pulverized as she heard a choking sound from behind her. In a way, Zero Two was glad she had her back facing darling, if she could see his expression, she would probably not have the heart to go through with the act she was putting on.

Closing into Mitsuru, Zero Two stopped and started sucking on a finger coquettishly.

 _He reeks of bad hair gel. Urgh... How much longer do I have to stay close to this jerk?_

"So you think you can handle me huh, big boy?" Zero Two winked.

"Yes I can. If Hiro can do it, so can I." Mitsuru grinned.

"But can you make me feel good? I'm such a bad girl, I just want a good time you know?" Zero Two purred out.

 _Zero Two wanted to puke._

"I'll make you feel better than even that nobody Hiro over there."

"How can you be so sure?" Zero Two cooed.

"Because I've seen his type plenty of times, he's nothing special."

 _Darling is special. Darling is unique. Darling is perfect._

Zero Two raged in her mind.

"And where have you seen 'his type'?"

"Oh you know, I sometimes take walks on the beach, see the same washed up shit dozens of times." drawled Mitsuru.

Mitsuru crowed inwardly at that score, he had been saving that for months!

Zero Two giggled flirtatiously.

 _Oh he was going to die for that._

"You're so funny! I think I like you. How about we shake on it?"

"Sure. Partners?"

Mitsuru stuck his hand out.

Zero Two grabbed his hand and started tracing her fingers up his arm.

"Mmm, such strong hands. I can't wait for these to grab the handles on my Pistil suit. Thinking about it just gives me the shivers."

Mitsuru grinned like an idiot. Suck it Hiro! Not only am I going to pilot Strelizia, I'm stealing your woman from right in front of your eyes! That's right, look on with your watery eyes and cry! Cry, because that's all you're good for!

"If you like them so much, after this mission, we can discuss a permanent partnership."

"Mmmm... You know what I think about the sound of that?"

Zero Two moaned as she cradled Mitsuru's right hand in her hands.

"Oh yeah? What about it?"

"How about..."

A feral grin broke out on her face as she executed Mitsuru for his arrogance.

 **"No."**

A shrill cry filled the air of the briefing room.

Mitsuru screamed in pain as Zero Two crushed his right hand with all the force she could muster, pouring every ounce of her enhanced hybrid strength into breaking every single bone in that hand.

As everyone in the briefing room stood paralyzed at the sight, Zero Two grinned as she continued to exert all of her strength into destroying Mitsuru's hands.

Then Mitsuru went from screaming, to outright squealing like a stuck pig as Zero Two started to grind his bones into powder.

The sound of his squealing jerked the black armored security trooper that stood guard outside of the briefing room into action. With a loud crash of the briefing room's door being rammed down. He pointed his assault rifle's laser sight to Zero Two's center mass as he barked out his orders.

"STEP BACK! STEP BACK! STEP! BACK!"

Instead of letting go, Zero Two merely doubled down and increased the amount of force she was applying to Mitsuru's hands.

As the black armored security trooper moved to switch off his rifle's safety, Nana broke out of her daze and hissed at the security trooper,

"Weapons down you idiot! Do you know who she is? She's part of The Nines. We don't have the authority to charge her for anything. So weapons down before you get all of us lined up in front of an APE firing squad."

Upon hearing "The Nines", the security trooper slung his rifle over his shoulder, performed a crisp salute and went on his way. He knew better than anyone to cross APE's Special Forces.

As Mitsuru's squealing turned to wrecked sobs and whimpers, Zero Two released the crushed mess that used to be his right hand and leveled a glare at the broken Stamen kneeling on the floor of the briefing room.

 **"Don't you ever talk shit about my darling ever again, got that?"**

Her task complete, Zero Two turned towards Nana,

"Seem's like darling here is the only functional Stamen left."

All this while, Hiro stood frozen to his spot. What... had she done? Was she insane? She did all this just to pilot with him?

As Hiro placed his gaze on Zero Two, he realized how messed up she had to be to do something like this. But the worst part was,

 _He found it kind of attractive how dedicated she was to him._

 _And how gentle and sweet she was towards him all the time, if she had the strength to destroy someone's hand like that in an instant._

Hiro found himself with a mix of confusion, guilt, sympathy, fear and **attraction.**

"Zero Two...You're insane."

"Strange, I think piloting with anyone but darling is the insane part. Guess we think differently then. So what will it be, Nana?"

Allowing fury to fill her face, Nana found herself about to snap at Zero Two and tell her that she could go to hell until Hachi intervened for the final time, settling the issue once and for all.

"It can't be helped at this stage anymore. Code 016 and 002. Prepare to sortie in Strelizia."

"Yes! Finally! Let's go darling~!"

Zero Two grabbed his hands and interlaced their fingers as they ran out of the briefing room. Hiro shivered from the pleasure and fear that the fingers currently interlaced between his, belonged to a person that had completely crushed Mitsuru's hands to pieces less than a minute ago.

And yet as he felt the warmth flooding his hand, the slight dampness of their intermingled sweat rubbing across his skin and the grin she flashed at him as they ran towards the Garage.

Somehow he knew, deep within his heart, that Zero Two would never hurt him. That, he was precious to her and she would wouldn't even dare consider the idea of hurting even a single hair on him.

That he was her _darling_ through and through.

 _And he loved every second of it._

Nana found herself cringing at the broken, sobbing and shivering wreck that had used to be Mitsuru as he cradled his destroyed hand to his chest.

"...Send a medical team to the briefing room."

* * *

As they stood side by side on the extending platform towards Strelizia's cockpit in their piloting suits. Zero Two had just released his hands to perform a series of stretches to warm herself up before getting into Strelizia.

Hiro found himself already longing for her touch, even if she had just stopped holding hands with him just mere moments ago.

Zero Two was perceptive when it came to her darling though. She was already on to him before he could notice.

"Did you miss holding hands?"

Hiro scratched his cheek in embarrassment as he mumbled,

"Yeah...I did."

Zero Two eyes lit up in happiness. Darling was being honest! Darling was being open with his feelings! Her efforts were working! She could barely refrain from squeeing in delight and tackling darling to the floor while she tore his clothes off and bit him everywher-

 _Woah, have to take it slower, can't risk scaring darling off like that_

She immediately laced their hands together once more and gripped them tight.

 _A lover's grip._

"If you ever feel like holding hands with me, you're free to do so anytime, darling! You don't even need to ask, kay?"

Oh, darling blushed nicely. Really, really nicely. Her new hobby would be embarrassing darling then, if he kept blushing so cutely.

But her perceptive eyes noticed something within darling's green-blue orbs.

His eyes flickered away for the faintest of moments. And it held a layer of insecurity.

She would need to address that. Darling never needed to be insecure, because no matter what happened, she would always be with him.

 **Always.**

"Is something the matter, darling?"

As a sign of trust, she held up their interlaced hands as if to say "Please tell me the truth."

Darling took a deep breath.

 _This must have been bothering him for a while._

"I..I don't know, Zero Two."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure if you mean anything you say. I mean, this feels like a fairytale to me. We've barely met and I'm just so... I don't know. Happy? Whenever I'm around you, my heart speeds up and I feel really nervous and kind of fluffy." Hiro confessed.

 _Fluffy darling, mmm... I like the sound of that.  
_

"But, I don't know if you're acting or telling the truth sometimes. I'm scared Zero Two."

Zero Two's eyes watered at his confession. Darling was scared? Was he scared of her? Her horns? Because she was different than other girls?

Frowning to herself, she awaited him to continue.

"I'm scared that you treat all your Stamens this way. I know that... that, you have a bad history. And sometimes, even though I try to stop myself, I think that, maybe, everything you're doing is an act to keep your Stamens compliant and happy. After what you did with Mitsuru there, the way you moved, the way you talked... I'm just worried, that's all."

"Darling..."

"I know I sound stupid, that I sound like a total idiot. But I'm just really, really scared Zero Two. I don't know if what's happening is the truth or just mere acting from you. Because if it's acting... at least do me a favor?"

Hiro found himself unable to suppress the shaking of his voice as he poured out all the emotions that had been plaguing him for the past week. Sucking in all the air that his lungs could hold, Hiro opened his eyes once more as he pleaded with Zero Two.

"Don't tell me the truth and let me enjoy this before it ends."

As Hiro rambled out his deepest insecurities to the horned girl, Zero Two merely nodded.

 _Ah so that's what it is._

 _Darling could be sooooooo stupid sometimes._

 _But that's what makes him cute._

Zero Two brightened up as she gazed into his eyes.

"But this isn't acting though."

Something warm and wet pressed against his lips. It was quick and fleeting. Less than a millisecond.

Hiro blinked and brushed his lips.

His lips parted as he tried to say something but Zero Two's finger pressed against his lips and shushed him.

"Did you enjoy that?"

He nodded.

"Then...here's your seconds."

Hiro's eyes widened as he felt her lock lips with him once more, this time much more forceful and insistent. Her body pressing against his with so much force he was arching his back on the rails behind him. Her breasts squished itself flat against his chest as Zero Two ground her entire body into his. Hot breaths splashed onto his face as Zero Two poured every drop of passionate love that she carried into him, as if he was a empty tank that required refilling.

From the corner of his consciousness, he felt Zero Two hands massaging his jaw, as if to coax his mouth open.

He complied.

Something warm and wet was thrust in his mouth. Gingerly, he used his tongue to prod at the new visitor.

He received a wet, playful swipe in return.

The soft sounds of lips smacking together along with a slight suckling noise filled the air of the Garage as Zero Two did her best to comfort her darling. Hiro gulped down the mixed saliva that pooled in his mouth, savoring the taste of his princess as his body shivered in pleasure at the shamelessness of their actions.

As if he was clinging to life(or oxygen), Hiro wrapped his arms around Zero Two and held on for dear life.

Feeling her darling reciprocate into her embrace, Zero Two resolved to make out with him even harder as an reward for him giving in to her affections.

Relishing the taste of her Darling, Zero Two's body shivered in pleasure as she proceeded to explore every inch of his mouth.

His cheeks. His gums. His teeth. His throat. Nothing was left untouched as she took extra care to ensure that not a single spot in darling's mouth missed out on the sensation of her tongue.

Realizing she could not ignore the burning of her lungs which demanded air as an essential need to continue living any further, reluctantly, she pulled away from their kiss with a loud smacking sound and knocked her horns against his forehead.

All the while gazing lovingly at his blue-green orbs.

Zero Two bit her lip as she dived in once more to sate her greediness.

With a final, hard lick on her darling's lips to seal the deal, she whispered lovingly to him,

"Still think I'm acting?"

Breathless and hazy with fluffy white clouds from the intensity of the physical act they had just indulged in, Hiro could only shake his head.

Grabbing his hands and ensuring they were interlaced once more, Zero Two started pulling her darling into their sacred chambers.

Into Strelizia.

"Time to ride your princess, darling."

Hiro couldn't help but mirror the grin currently on her face.


	10. Chapter 9

"Darling, I need to let go of our hands now, kay?"

Zero Two's turquoise orbs gazed into his eyes with love and affection as she nuzzled her horns against Hiro's forehead. Overwhelmed by such an open display of affection, Hiro could only stiffly nod as he felt the warmth linger in his hands as Zero Two slowly released her grip.

He shivered in pleasure as he felt Zero Two made an effort to slowly run her fingers through his as she detached herself, giving him a final tease of skinship that made him blush once more.

"Aww, don't give me that look, Darling."

Scratching his cheek as he looked away, Hiro mumbled his apologies. Zero Two felt her eyes water from happiness when she saw such open reluctance show on darling's face.

 _He's getting clingier to me, that's so cute._

"Hehe, once we get back, we can hold hands all you want."

Giving a final peck on his lips, Zero Two grinned as she turned around and prepared to enter the Pistil terminal.

Shaking his head to clear away the fluffy white clouds that had blanketed his mind, Hiro exhaled as he gripped the handles of Zero Two's Pistil suit and proceeded to open his heart. As he closed his eyes, he felt a throbbing warmth in the distance and proceeded to embrace it.

"...!"

 _Woah, that felt REALLY good._

As Hiro gasped at the pleasurable sensation that flooded his body, he barely noticed Strelizia booting up as he heard Zero Two moan and arc her back.

"Zero Two… Did you feel that as well?"

Wiggling her body to soak in the pleasure and release the tension that had built up in her, Zero Two groaned out,

"Mmm, I'm feeling it too. It felt even better than our first time together, Darling~"

"Yeah, it really does feel much better than our first time! As I go deeper inside you, I can't tell where I end and where you begin anymore."

"I think that's because our hearts got closer than ever, Darling!"

 _Hearts getting closer huh...? Maybe this is the true power of the Franxx._

As Hiro pondered his newfound theory on piloting, Zero Two's voice broke him out of his introspection.

"Let's fly, darling!"

The boosters on Strelizia's back roared as they took flight. Hiro's breath hitched in his throat as he gazed at the world around him as Strelizia soared through the sky.

"Amazing..."

"It never gets old huh, darling?"

"Yup!"

As they raced off to rescue their squad mates at the mine, only one thought crossed his mind.

 _Piloting with Zero Two feels amazing!_

* * *

Miku groaned in pain as she blinked away the blurriness of her returning vision. Her bandages were stained red from the reopening of her wounds and pulses of pain rocked through her body from the recovering bruises she had received from her mock battle with Delphinium. As the ringing in her ears began to subside, she noticed someone was calling out to her.

"-ku! Miku!"

That crying face of his looked so stupid, honestly. Did he even notice that his nose was running in an undignified way?

 _But at least that jerk had enough heart to shed tears for her. Seems like he's not all that bad after all._

"Miku! You're back!"

A painful impact collided against her back.

"Hey! Hey! My body still hurts so... wait where do you think you're touching!? Hey, get off already!"

"I'm so glad you're alive Miku! I'm so glad!"

Jeeze. At least be considerate and notice that he was getting tears and snot on her Pistil suit. But Miku couldn't deny the little flash of happiness that streaked her heart as she rubbed the back of her idiot partner to calm him down.

"Alright! That's enough, you crybaby! Let's get back to the fight!"

Giving Zorome a quick smack on his head, Miku positioned herself at the Pistil terminal and prepared to reactivate Argentea.

"Seems like the both of you are back to normal huh? That's good, for a moment, we thought you had died!" Kokoro's voice chimed in.

"I never died!"

Ichigo did not wish to break up such heartwarming banter from her squad mates, however, the groaning of twisting steel behind Delphinium told her that they had more pressing issues at hand.

"That's enough of that! Argentea! Genista! Help me barricade this entryway!"

As Argentea and Genista surged forward to bolster the locked entryway which seemed to be on the verge of breaking down, Ichigo radioed HQ for support.

"Delphinium to HQ! Where is our backup? We can't hold out for much longer!"

The calm and measured voice of Hachi came through, but what he said had the opposite effect of reassuring Ichigo. In fact, it sent chills down her spine.

"Strelizia's coming to back you up. Hold out until it arrives."

"All right! If we can just hang in there until-" Futoshi's cheering was cut off by the harsh demands of Ichigo,

"Strelizia!? Who's the pilot? Hachi, who's piloting it!?"

 _It couldn't be. They wouldn't dare send him. His life was in danger if he kept piloting with Zero Two._

"Ichigo! Get a grip! We're losing power to Delphinium!" Goro desperately called out in an attempt to calm her down.

As Ichigo's focus slipped from her frantic worrying, the slack that had been introduced into Delphinium's output proved to be fatal. The Conrad-class Klaxosaurs began to rip through the steel barricade and tear it apart.

"What's gotten into you?" Miku cried as she felt the barricade give way under Argentea's hands.

Ichigo's mind began to shut down. She panicked at the idea of Hiro being a cold, immobile corpse laying in the Stamen's seat. She calculated that since this was his 2nd flight of death, he would either die after this or have just one final chance left at survival.

But in the darkest recesses of her heart, she knew the truth.

 _This wasn't about Hiro's safety._

Her jealous heart whispered toxic thoughts to her mind. She remembered the mock battle in Delphinium. She had confessed her heart out, he had kissed her, even if it was for the faintest of moments. Their minds and souls became one as they reconnected just like old times. And then they moved in perfect unison as Hiro unleashed his full capabilities that pushed Delphinium to it's very limits.

She remembered how warm his hand felt as he squeezed back in response.

 _And now he was piloting with that... that homewrecker!_

She felt as if the carpet was pulled out from under her. As if their memories from their time together as childhood friends grew fainter as Hiro replaced them with new ones with Zero Two.

She had spent her entire life in pursuit of a single goal. Countless hours were spent in front of the mirror every morning as she tried to make herself as attractive as possible before meeting him. She took extra care to wear the hairpin that he'd gifted her, every single day. Ichigo even styled her hair such that it had longer bangs on a single side that she could brush conspicuously as Hiro mentioned offhandedly once that he found such an action 'cute'.

And now, he chose Zero Two over her. A horned girl with Klaxosaur blood that he had barely met for less than a week.

Ichigo heart screamed in pain as the blades of jealously repeatedly stabbed it.

 _This is bad, she's panicking and her mind's completely shutdown. It's always Hiro that causes her to freeze like this._

Goro knew that he had to take command or else the entire squad would be wiped out. As his eyes spotted an alternate route, he ordered,

"Everyone, run to the center and escape!"

With the Conrad-classes hot on their tails, they all ran for their lives as they prayed to Papa to watch over them.

As they reached the center, they realized that Papa had currently put them on hold.

"There's even more of them at the center..." Kokoro uttered in fear.

"We're surrounded!" Zorome yelled.

With icy fear gripping her heart, Miku looked towards Ichigo for answers.

"Hey leader! What are we gonna do about this?"

 _Ichigo had to have some sort of plan! She was an Aggressor after all! She was one of the best pilots of the entire Ground Forces!_

As Ichigo's brokenhearted voice sounded off, Miku knew no answer was forthcoming.

"Prepare to make a final stand. Take down as many as you can before... before..."

Ichigo's voice relayed her doubt and fears as she stared down a giant mass that approached them.

 _So the Conrad-classes have already combined. This infestation is worst than we thought. We're dead._

 _If only I didn't lose myself thinking stupid thoughts, we could have still made it out._

 _I've failed as a leader._

 _That's what I get for allowing Hiro to take the lead all the time during our time together._

 _I'm a terrible leader as compared to him._

As the giant Conrad-class closed in on Delphinium, Ichigo resolved to keep her eyes open until the very end.

"Hiro..."

She prayed.

And was answered.

* * *

"Hey, Zero Two."

As Strelizia swooped in from above like an guardian angel and slammed Queen Pike into the giant Conrad-class, Hiro made conversation as casually as one would when enjoying their meals at the mess halls.

"Mmm?"

Zero Two made a noise as she focused on piercing the heart of the Klaxosaur that lay below them.

"You said you can pilot Strelizia alone if needed right?"

"Yup! What about it?"

"But, that only applies to the stampede form. You never had the chance to experience piloting Strelizia much when she's in her actual normal form, right?"

"Well, yeah... I don't understand where you are going with- Ah, Darling!?"

Zero Two made a noise as Hiro shut his eyes and focused on releasing his hold over their shared connection to Strelizia. Shifting control over to Zero Two. Cracking open an eye, he smiled at Zero Two,

"There you go! Here, enjoy yourself Zero Two!"

Zero Two's eyes widened as she made an "oh" face as she realized what her darling had done. He would let her take the lead on piloting Strelizia while he focused on supporting her?

 _Darling. Was. Perfect._

 _Perfect._

"Darling."

"Hmm?"

"I'm gonna kiss the crap out of you when we get back."

"Ehehe. I'm looking forward to it, I guess?"

After flashing one last cheesy grin at Hiro, Zero Two turned back to focus on her new found control over Strelizia.

 _Time to have some fuuuuuuun_

Strelizia looked around the swarming masses of Conrads and smirked, there was plenty of food

 _and fun_

to be had today in the mine.

Strelizia's boosters purred along with it's pilot as it prepared to perform her massacre of Klaxosaurs with newfound glee.

"Alright darling, keep up with me kay?"

"Of course! Just don't get too carried away, Zero Two. It's kinda disgusting when Strelizia is coated with Klaxo blood."

"I'll try not to ruin the paint job~"

As Strelizia somersaulted into the air to transition into a dive with Queen Pike, Hiro was already shifting over to his newfound support role with ease.

"Marking Klaxosaur concentrations on the screen, dive right there to get the most impacts."

"As expected from my darling, Perfect in bed and in support~"

"B-bed!? But we didn't share a bed yet..."

 **"Not yet."**

The blush currently on Hiro's face could light every single Klaxosaur in the mine on fire from it's intensity alone. He always felt the hair on his neck rise in pleasure whenever she used _"that"_ voice on him. Loudly clearing his throat, Hiro shook his head and went back to tracking targets for Zero Two to squash to pieces.

However, there was one thing that was nagging at the back of Hiro's mind as he watched Zero Two elegantly stab, pierce and crush Conrads under the might of Strelizia.

That it was genuinely taking longer than he had expected for Strelizia to clear out the Klaxosaur mob. And he suspected it wasn't because of her piloting skill or lack thereof. He tapped Zero Two on her shoulder as she added another Conrad to the tally.

"Zero Two...?"

"Kinda busy here darling~"

She was holding back.

It was plainly obvious from her movements that she wasn't even putting her heart into it. That she was moving Strelizia slower, twisting and turning with a forced gentleness that spoke as if she was afraid of hurting something.

Or someone.

Hiro's heart fluttered and clenched at the same time. On one hand, his heart surged with happiness at the idea of Zero Two caring about him so much she would even restrain herself just to avoid any chance of hurting him in the process. On the other hand, his heart clenched at the thought that he was holding her back from her full potential.

He didn't want a partnership... no. He didn't want a _relationship_ where Zero Two couldn't be herself around him.

He wanted to be her equal, her _partner_ in all aspects.

"I want you to go all out."

"...Darling?"

"Hold nothing back, Zero Two. Go all out. Let me see your true abilities."

Zero Two's eyes widened at his request. Her lips quivered as she thought of her darling being a broken bloody mess as all her Stamens were reduced to after piloting with her.

She couldn't risk that. Never! She would protect her darling with her life. And if she couldn't, she would follow him into the afterlife at a moment's notice.

 _Because a world without darling isn't a world worth living in._

"...I don't want to hurt you darling."

"And I don't want to keep holding you back. Zero Two, trust in me. I promised to give you, my everything. So take it Zero Two. Take my life force, take every last drop of blood. I belong to you, Zero Two. I'm all yours-"

With a hand over his heart, Hiro declared.

 **"Use me, Zero Two."**

Closing her eyes for a moment, Zero Two exhaled loudly.

"Promise me you'll be fine. Promise that you'll come back to me safe and sound. If you do, I'll use you as you wish."

With his fingers stroking her cheeks, Hiro whispered in the gentlest voice he could muster,

"I'm your partner, forever and always. I promise you."

With her eyes watering up at her darling's declaration and promise, with her heart beating in her chest as she cried in happiness at such devotion from her darling, Zero Two nodded and smiled seductively,

"Well then, get ready for _all_ of me. Prepare yourself, Darling~"

"Mmm, I can't wait."

Feeling out the connection between herself and Hiro, the bond that signaled the flow of life force, thoughts and memories between the two partners, Zero Two shifted from her carefully managed bond-distance from her darling as she approached closer to the beating core of his soul.

Caressing the red pulsing core of his bond towards her as if she was his lover,

Zero Two pulled it close into her in a mimicry of an lover's embrace as she indulged deeply into his soul.

"...!"

"Darling?!"

Worried at the sound he had just made, Zero Two paused her actions for a moment and immediately checked on her darling. She rolled her eyes at her overreaction as she noticed the pinkness of the blush staining his cheeks.

"Oh. So that's what you think about when you're around me."

Zero Two giggled.

So he had started the mind meld and liked what he saw? Now that gave her an idea.

Purring her desires to her darling,

"If you would like, I can do _everything_ you're seeing right now, for you afterwards. In bed."

"L-let's just focus on squashing those conrads for now."

In his tiniest voice ever, Hiro squeaked out his reply, embarrassed as he was at being propositioned by Zero Two.

With a rumbling of the Earth, the remaining Conrads merged to once more form the giant mass that threatened Delphinium just a short while ago.

As it charged at the currently immobilized Strelizia, there was a flash of light that blinded everyone in the mine. A flash of light so bright, it caused the pilots of Squad 13 to shield their eyes from the searing burn it caused.

Strelizia became dyed in red.

* * *

"Strelizia's sync rate is rising! 114...117...125..." Nana cried out at the Command Center.

"Doctor, what in the world is going on?" Hachi asked.

Stroking his chin as he looked at the display, Werner murmured,

"That boy might just make Zero Two's wish come true."

* * *

Strelizia's thrusters roared as the red maiden of steel barreled towards it's target. Putting all of it's force behind Queen Pike, Strelizia rammed the oversized lance into the skull of the giant Klaxosaur.

"Great job darling! Let's keep going! We can do this!"

"Let's go! Zero Two!"

Even as Hiro's heart palpitated under the strain it was going through, he couldn't help but yell along with her as he pushed forward with his partner...no,

His _princess._

As he felt Zero Two's entire being surround him in a warm, soft and loving embrace that he felt brush against him down to his very blood cells, he couldn't help but grin.

If he was going to die, then this would be the best way to go out ever.

With a bang. Not a whimper.

The magma energy in Queen Pike reached a critical mass as it erupted in the depths of the Klaxosaur's insides, the massive explosion it released blowing it to pieces. As a shower of blue coated the entire mine shaft, chunks of the Klaxosaur's gore began to rain down and bounce off the ground with wet, sickening thumps.

Gasping for breath, Hiro slumped back in his seat as all the adrenaline that had surged through his body cooled down and he had to deal with the aftereffects. Clutching his heart that palpitated at a million miles an hour, he barely heard the telltale rustling sound of Zero Two cuddling up to him.

Soft hands removed the ones which were clenching his heart as he gasped for breath. Replacing his grip with a warm and gentle touch on his chest as Zero Two nuzzled her horns on his forehead. She gently pressed her hands down on his chest as she cooed comforting words in his ears.

"You did well, darling. Shhh, shhh. It's all over now. You fulfilled your promise and returned to me safe and sound. Deep breaths, darling. Breathe. Here, listen. Follow my timing. Breathe in... and out... You're the best, darling."

The gentle massaging of Zero Two's hands on his chest, the comforting whispers and the cuddling eventually all contributed to Hiro's body calming itself down as it readjusted to normality.

But there was still something important that had not been resolved. It was a matter of utmost importance, so important that Hiro could not afford to leave it hanging in doubt. Truly, this went beyond even the success of their current mission.

"Zero Two."

The absolute seriousness in his voice made Zero Two lock her eyes onto his orbs and provide him with her full attention.

"Yes?"

"When can I claim my kisses?"

"Pervert."

* * *

Ichigo stood with her rest of her squad as they awaited the duo to exit from Strelizia. Her heart was racing as her mind flashed her images of Hiro's broken body being dragged out of Strelizia's cockpit. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she desperately tried to convince herself that Hiro was still fine.

A hissing sound finally made everyone perk up and look towards the cockpit of Strelizia as it opened to disgorge it's pilots. If the rumors of the Partner Killer was true. If they needed to add another name to the casualty list.

If they needed to mourn.

For short moments that seemed to last an eternity, Ichigo's heart waited through the excruciating seconds that would determine Hiro's fate.

For once, Fate seemed to have mercy.

Zero Two walked out of the cockpit with her arms supporting Hiro as he stumbled out along with her. He was walking, alright, but from the way it seemed that Zero Two required to support his weight, it was clear as day that Hiro was not exactly in perfect shape. Although one couldn't tell from the smiles that were adorning the couple's faces.

The tinkling sound of laughter rang out even from the distance between the pair and the rest of the squad.

Ichigo realized the sinking feeling in her stomach that plagued her from the beginning was still around, even after confirmation of Hiro's safety. Except it was there for a different reason. A reason she soon realized as she squinted her eyes at something that interested her.

Hiro had a small bruise on his neck.

As if he had been bitten by something.

 _Or someone._

She had touched him.

Intimately.

Ichigo ground her teeth so harshly she felt her molars scrape against each other.

* * *

"The numbers are conclusive. Code 016 is the best performing Stamen in Strelizia's history. He is a perfect match for Code 002."

"Get to the point, Werner."

"Do I have your permission to execute the Filament Plan?"

"Request denied. Raw performance and compatibility isn't everything. This is only his second flight, isn't it? Historically, he still has one more trial to pass if he is to prove that he is capable of becoming her permanent partner."

"...This specimen is different, I can assure you. At least unfreeze Strelizia's design so I can improve their chances."

"That might be possible. However, if you wish to make modifications to Strelizia, it would have to be done with whatever resources you currently possess. No additional magma fuel, Franxx components or engineering manpower will be allocated to you. If Code 016 indeed proves to be the special specimen and survives his third flight against all odds, we can renegotiate the implementation of the Filament Plan."

"Understood. Werner out."

As the visage of Papa disappeared from his communications display, Werner Franxx hurriedly pulled out his tablet as he compiled all of his notes and blueprints of Strelizia.

Tapping his stylus on the desk, he glanced out his office's window as he pondered the options available to him with his currently limited resources at Plantation 13.

Maybe he could...

No, no, no. The boy was a close quarters combat expert, that wouldn't work.

As he saw a team of Garage mechanics transport a container of steel tubes using the cranes, an idea whizzed past his brain.

 _Yes, that would work._

Rushing to sketch the new design out on his tablet before the details eluded him, Doctor Werner Franxx worked on his new experiment.

However, he did not manage to get far before the chirping voice of Nana came through on his intercom.

"Doctor Franxx, Hachi wishes to see you in his office to discuss Strelizia's performance regarding today's mission."

Damned fools! Can't an old scientist be left to his experiments for once?

Groaning to himself, Werner responded that he would be there shortly as he grabbed his coat and prepared to leave his office.

"Oh right, I almost forgot to save my blueprint."

With a swipe and a quick series of taps to name his saved work, Werner left his office to meet that blasted Hachi.

 _He was going to squeeze Nana's butt even harder today to make up for his frustration._

As he left his office and turned off it's lights, the tablet's display shone in the darkness.

FRX-01C

Strelizia Custom.


	11. Chapter 10

Another ride in Strelizia, another trip to the medical bay it seemed.

The day after the mission in the mines, Hiro felt the familiar stabbing sensation of a needle pricking his skin once more. He wondered to himself if the damned blood tests would stop once he had managed to prove that he could consistently survive piloting with Zero Two.

Seriously, having to report to the medical bay after every ride was proving to be a major mood killer after all the ecstasy he always felt after piloting with Zero Two.

Well, whatever happened next time, the excessive medical tests would stop one way or another, that's for sure.

Either by death or definitive proof that he was Zero Two's destined partner.

 _Just one more ride left. Would he break the curse or merely be a footnote in Zero Two's history of partners?_

His anxious thoughts were broken up by the sound of the door belonging to the medical bay sliding open.

"Darling, aren't you done yet? I've been waiting for you for so loooong..."

The way she stuck her head out sideways as she peeped into the medical bay was honestly way too cute, Hiro thought. His heart melted once more when he saw how Zero Two was complaining childishly while she took time out of her day to follow him around. A bashful smile grew across his face as he gave her a thumbs up in reply.

The medical orderly however, wasn't as happy as Hiro to see someone interrupting his work.

"Code 002, please do not bother the medical staff while they are attending to a Parasite. Return to the waiting area at once."

At his cold tone that he used to brush her away, Zero Two puffed her cheeks out and whined.

"Pffft... Whatever, this bores me anyway."

As the door slid shut once more, Hiro pondered to himself if he had been unknowingly blessed by the heavens for having the luck to have drawn the affections of his current partner, Zero Two.

She was pretty. Her long pink hair framed the beautiful face that always blew kisses and winked flirtatiously at him. Her developed body contained delicious fat and softness in all the right places, which he fully felt whenever they embraced, which was occurring more often these days. His heart swooned at the way her nose scrunched as she flashed her cheesy grins at him whenever they bantered with each other. He could never tear his blue-green eyes away from her turquoise orbs that always shone as she gazed at him with her full attention and affections whenever she laid sight upon him.

She was physically affectionate. To the point that after only a few short days together with her, Hiro felt his body start to crave her touch more and more often. The way she always aggressively closed in and pushed for maximum skinship, the way she always embraced him whenever she had the chance to, the way her tongue danced with his whenever she kissed him. It was as if physical contact with him was an essential requirement to live for her.

She was flirtatious. In fact, flirtatious would be putting it mildly. On their last piloting session together, she outright propositioned him to sleep together. As a pleasurable shiver ran through his body, somehow, he knew that she was going to go even further from here on out. For some reason, Hiro felt himself looking forward to the idea.

She was devoted towards him as well. Sometimes to scary extents. His mind recalled the sobbing wreck of Mitsuru as he cradled his destroyed hand to his chest. All done because Zero Two refused to pilot with anyone else but him. But her devotion manifested itself in nicer ways as well. He noticed how Zero Two would always seek him out whenever she could, how she would follow him around all day with a cheerful grin on her face as they flirted, bantered and essentially spent every second together enjoying each other's company.

In a way, Zero Two truly felt like someone that he was responsible for. Where his single role was to embrace, protect and nurture her smile and happiness. The happiness of his partner, no...

 _His princess._

 _She also smells really sweet and nice._

Blood rushed to his face as the darker parts of his wants teased him about his favorite aspect of Zero Two.

He hoped the medical orderly wouldn't take that as an excuse to run extra tests.

* * *

"You shouldn't barge in like that, you're just making yourself into a bother for everyone."

As Zero Two moved back to the opposite corner of the waiting room furthest away from the blue haired girl currently glaring daggers at her, she counterattacked.

"And what about you? Why are you even here in the first place? You're not even his Pistil anymore. You should stop acting like you're darling's partner all the time."

This horned girl! Just because she shamelessly threw herself at Hiro all the time! Couldn't she see? Hiro was too nice to reject her advances and he let her get carried away all the time. And now, she was trying to get rid of her? Get rid of her competition?

She wouldn't stand for that. She had spent her entire life with Hiro. She was not going to let this homewrecker shoo her away.

"Just because I'm not his Pistil _for the moment_ doesn't mean I can't check up on Hiro and make sure he's okay. In fact, I'm surprised that you even bothered to come here to wait for him, considering YOU were the one to put him in the medical bay in the first place with your recklessness."

Zero Two snarled at her 'for the moment' declaration. This stupid, jealous ex. When will she finally realize that darling was done with her and she was just clinging on to old memories?

"I'll have you know, darling was the one who requested it."

Ichigo rolled her eyes upon hearing that. Did Zero Two honestly think that she would believe such an excuse? It was clear as day that Hiro was being stringed along by her.

Sarcastically, she snarked at Zero Two,

"Yeah, I'm sure you didn't manipulate him in any way like rubbing your breasts on him like you always do."

Ah... so she wanted to go there, didn't she? If she wanted a cat fight, she came to the right place.

 _Alright you blue haired strawberry washboard. This means war.  
_

"Well, if you didn't have raisins on your chest, I'm sure darling would have an easier time falling for you."

Strutting up towards Ichigo until her chest was level with Ichigo's gaze, Zero Two smirked at the shorter girl as she crossed her arms below her breasts and emphasized their size.

"You should see darling's face whenever he notices them bouncing."

"...!"

With a blush staining her cheeks, Ichigo looked away in embarrassment at Zero Two's forward display. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she stuttered.

"Hiro likes them on the smaller side as well! I've seen him look at me when he thought I wasn't paying attention!"

"But he doesn't look at you much nowadays, does he?"

The sheer smugness that radiated off Zero Two as she grinned towards her made Ichigo's temper flare up beyond the limits of her self control.

One day, she was going to "accidentally" stab her with Envy Shop and write it off as a training accident.

"I'll tell you what, let's make a bet shall we? Between rivals."

A bet?

Ichigo's ears perked up at that. What did this lizard, dinosaur-klaxosaur slut have in mind?

"When darling comes out, let's see who he goes to first. If he goes to you first, I'll let you have an entire day of fun with him with no interruptions."

"And what do you win if he picks you?"

Ichigo muttered to herself, as a rush of nervousness flushed through her body at that very moment.

"How about... you let me and darling eat our meals together from now on without any of your protests?"

Ichigo winced at that, she knew that Zero Two carried a lot of momentum at the moment with Hiro, but she really didn't want to back down at this smirking homewrecker. She didn't want to feel the shame of retreating right after the verbal spar they had just exchanged.

She knew this bet carried unfavorable odds against her.

She went ahead anyway.

"Deal."

As Zero Two returned to the far corner of the waiting room to put as much distance between the pair, Ichigo looked towards the door that led to the medical bay with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

She had messed up.

* * *

Doing his usual annoying swirl of the test tube that contained his blood, the medical orderly sent him off with his usual disinterested monotone.

"That's the last of it. Code 016, you can take your leave."

Buttoning up the sleeves of his top, Hiro hopped off the medical bay as he prepared to finally leave this infernal place of disinfectant and bleach.

Little did he know that he was about to walk into another type of hell.

A hell that consisted of pink and blue.

* * *

"Darling!"

"Hiro!"

Two voices rang out in unison that signaled his unavoidable doom.

Now Hiro always prided himself in reading the atmosphere. As much as he would have liked to think, Hiro did not consider himself completely oblivious. Maybe he got embarrassed a little too easily, considering recent events, but Hiro never felt he was particularly dense regarding certain cues.

Not when it came to his chances of continued existence on this mortal plane.

"Uh... Hi?"

As he awkwardly waved towards the two girls that had waited for him to complete his medical checkup, he desperately tried to figure out someway to survive his current predicament.

"Daaaaarling~ You promised me that you'll show me around didn't you? Lets go right now!"

"Hiro, you must be famished after your checkup. Lets go to the dining room! It's past lunchtime but I'm sure we can find something to eat."

The smiles on both their faces were bright and beaming. Doing their best to invite him along their planned excursion.

 _Holy crap how is it even possible to look that scary with those thousand watt smiles?!_

Well he was screwed either way.

 _Time to die Hiro._

 _Pick your poison._

 _Unless..._

"Ahahaha! Oh I would love too but you know, I have a card game planned with Goro right now, soooo-"

 _Goro, you're the best._

As Hiro praised Goro so intensely in his mind to the point that he swore to make him into the leading figure of a new religion if given the chance, he made his desperate scramble for safety.

And distance.

"Woah! Look at the time! This medical checkup took way longer than I expected, ahaha! So see you around!"

With his heart racing, Hiro sped off, leaving two stunned Pistils in his wake.

 _I'm going to go to my room, lock the door, barricade the windows and hide under my blankets until the next Klaxosaur attack._

"Oh no you don't! You come back here right now, darling!"

 _Ah well, seems like a different kind of Klaxosaur is gonna attack me anyway._

To her credit, Zero Two broke out of her daze as she sprinted in pursuit of her darling. Like a fox chasing after it's prey, she grinned. _  
_

Ichigo could merely blink at the combined absurdity of the events that had occurred the past minute and groaned into her palms.

* * *

"Our Magma Fuel reserves require replenishment. With the mine damaged from the recent Klaxosaur attack, I have put in a Kissing request with Plantation 26."

Nana looked over to Hachi as she scrolled through her notifications at the console in the Plantation's command center.

"Kissing request has been granted approval by Papa. We'll change course to link up with Plantation 26."

Hachi nodded. A fuel transfer operation always attracted a significant amount of Klaxosaurs, he would need to start preparing defensive plans.

* * *

"He still isn't eating?"

Goro asked in concern as Futoshi came back with the tray of food still untouched.

"No, and he's been like that ever since we came back. Maybe I should eat it so it doesn't go to waste."

Goro rolled his eyes at Futoshi's skewed priorities as he glanced inside the sickbay where Mitsuru laid resting in one of the beds.

He had ugly, terrible scars where the doctors had operated on his crushed hand. Multiple stainless steel pins protruded out from his skin where they held the metal plates in place that were grafted on inside his hand.

Every so often, a soft whimper of pain would come from behind the closed curtains as he tried to move his fingers on his right hand once more.

All in all, Mitsuru made for a pathetic sight.

The sound of footsteps announced the arrival of their Team Leader as she came to check up on her injured squad mate.

Glancing towards Goro, Ichigo asked the question that was on everybody's minds.

"How is he doing?"

"You should go take a look for yourself."

Grimacing at her upcoming task, Ichigo nodded as she prepared to approach Mitsuru.

Drawing back the curtains and ignoring the hiss that followed as she introduced light to his bed, Ichigo spoke with Mitsuru.

"Tell me exactly what happened in that briefing room, Mitsuru."

Ignoring the glare that he threw her way, Ichigo awaited his reply.

"That girl... Zero Two... She truly isn't human at all! She came up to me offering a partnership. She was all smiles and giggles as she drew me in closer."

"And then what happened?"

"She asked me to shake hands with her. When I did, she crushed me with all of her inhuman strength! Even when I was screaming my lungs out, she didn't stop! It was as if she was out to kill me! What's worst, she had a smile on her face! She was smiling the entire time!"

Mitsuru threw himself forward and shook Ichigo by the shoulder with his one good hand.

But Ichigo didn't let it affect her, she stood her ground.

Because Mitsuru had valuable information about Zero Two that she required.

She endured his freakout and continued to listen to his ranting.

"Hey! Calm down man!" Futoshi yelled as he saw Ichigo being shaken by Mitsuru.

Ignoring the cries from his fellow squad mates, Mitsuru continued.

"You're our squad leader aren't you!? You have to take responsibility! That girl truly is inhuman to the core, I'm telling you! You have to stop her from piloting with anyone else or they'll end up like me! Not even Hiro will be spared!"

Figuring she had heard enough of Mitsuru's ranting, Ichigo brushed his hand off her shoulders and made to leave without another word.

If what he said was true, then Hiro would truly be in danger for his third ride with Zero Two. However, she had no authority to block them from piloting together, that was up to APE HQ to decide.

Walking away from the ranting Mitsuru, she pondered her options.

Mitsuru made a motion to pull her back but Futoshi was restraining him from further actions. Tiring himself out on struggling against Futoshi's bulk, Mitsuru slumped back on the bed and panted in exhaustion.

Meanwhile, the frown never left Ichigo's face as she thought about how she could save Hiro from his fate.

* * *

"Got you~"

Hiro groaned as he felt Zero Two nuzzle herself into the crook of his neck as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. As much as he struggled and twisted his body, her vice like grip firmly held him in place.

"Thinking about it, the library was way too obvious a location to hide away in."

Hiro complained out loud as Zero Two indulged herself in the spoils of her capture. As she moved from nuzzling his neck into sucking on it, loud wet smacks rang out in the silence of the library. Hiro shivered in pleasure as he found himself relaxing into her embrace as he felt Zero Two's hands start to feel up his chest. The twin mounds of softness pressed against his back as he allowed her to have his way with him like always.

"Maybe darling wanted to be caught. Or were you playing hard to get like always?"

Hiro shivered once more in Zero Two's embrace, delighting her as she felt it in her arms, as he groaned out his reply.

"I'm not playing hard to get- AH WAIT WAIT PLEASE DON'T BITE ME AGAIN!"

Hiro pleaded with Zero Two as he felt her sharp canines brush against the skin of his neck once more.

 _Like she did yesterday while they were in Strelizia._

"Have I ever told you, I can smell liars? Besides, I remember you moaning pretty happily when I bit your neck yesterday."

Blowing her hot breaths on his neck, Hiro shuddered in anticipation as he turned his head to look at Zero Two with a pleading face.

It was a face that made Zero Two's core flush hot as she blushed from the desire racking through her body. She squeezed her thighs together as Zero Two felt her need for her darling spike to new heights.

"You can't just keep doing that! People will notice if I have a constant bruise on my neck!" he complained to her.

"Maybe I want everyone to see that I've claimed you, darling. That love bite will be my mark on you, so that it'll keep away all the thieving-cats that might want to get their paws on you."

There was no way out of this, Hiro groaned to himself. While Zero Two never applied her enhanced hybrid strength into actually hurting him, she always applied just enough to lock him in place whenever she had managed to... catch him.

Exhaling the breath that he was holding, Hiro relaxed his body as he snuggled in return into Zero Two's arms. The happy squeal he heard behind him confirmed that Zero Two had accepted his surrender as she started cooing sweet honey into his ears.

Besides, she was right, even if he didn't want to openly admit something so embarrassing to her.

He kind of wanted this anyway, like she said.

"Zero Two...?"

"Yes, darling?"

Zero Two paused her affectionate cuddling for a moment as she strained her ears when she heard her darling call out to her in a soft, needy voice.

"I don't like this position, I want to see your face."

"...!"

Zero Two bit her lip as everything in her body screamed at her to throw him on the ground, tear off his clothes and take him right now. Fluttering her eyes as she put all her self-restraint forward into controlling herself, Zero Two released her hold and turned him around before engulfing him into the most loving embrace she could muster.

Her horns were nuzzling against his head like always, the sensation of which allowed him to truly understand that he was with Zero Two and no one else. The horned girl that seemed to have dominated all of his waking thoughts in recent times.

Wrapping his arms around her as he reciprocated her embrace, Hiro groaned in pleasure as he nuzzled himself into the crook of Zero Two's neck and savored her scent.

As he gulped down lungfuls of her sweet and slightly musky scent, Hiro moaned into the crook of her neck as he pressed his body against hers, all shame having seemingly fled his body as he gorged himself on Zero Two's body. Zero Two cheesed once more as she enjoyed the sight of her darling openly indulging in his feelings and love regarding her.

"Hehe, I'm a little embarrassed too because I got a little sweaty from chasing after you so much. But it seems like you're enjoying it more than ever because of that."

Pausing his indulgence, Hiro buried his face in the crook of her neck, his newfound embarrassment making it known on his cheeks as he confessed to Zero Two.

"Yup, I'm really enjoying it."

"Oh, trust me, I can feel _exactly_ how much you're enjoying this."

Zero Two purred as she slid her core along the stiff length of her darling, taking note of it's every detail through the layers of clothing that separated them.

 _Seems like we'll be a perfect fit after all!_

 _Also, I'm gonna have to drop by the laundry room later and pick up a fresh set of panties after this._

Well, considering darling had made her ruin her underwear, she only thought it fair if she made him ruin his!

With a devious smirk that sent shivers down Hiro's spine, Zero Two tackled him to the floor.

As he lay on his back, he realized what she was going to do as she straddled him and wrapped her legs around his waist.

Lifting her skirt up until it went above her hips, Hiro's eyes widened at the sight of her black pantyhose being revealed to him. His eyes followed her every motion in a daze as she positioned herself such that his manhood was currently nestled between her warm thighs.

With a slow, rocking motion along with the sound of fabrics being rubbed, Zero Two rode her darling in rhythm.

"Darling...! Darling...! Darling...!"

As Zero Two locked her gaze onto his and panted out his name, Hiro couldn't help but shut his eyes as he mimicked her motions in sync. The spikes of pleasure shooting up his spine made him groan as he rocked his hips alongside Zero Two.

Feeling the pressure build up within his lower body, Hiro held on to dear life on to the hands of Zero Two. Upon noticing that her she was bringing her darling to his peak, Zero Two's heart fluttered and soared as she cried out in ecstasy.

Interlacing their hands together, Zero Two confessed her heart out as she wholeheartedly accepted the one person in the entire world that saw her not as a beast,

But as his princess.

"Darling...!"

"Zero Two! Zero Two!"

Their gazes locked onto each other's as the words that Zero Two had been saving her entire life came spilling forth from her heart.

She confessed.

"Darling...! I love you!"

 _And then she had realized what she had just done._

The enormity of what she had just said came crashing down upon her. A surge of fear flooded her body, overriding the pleasure that she was currently feeling up till now.

She had finally confessed to her darling. There was no going back anymore. She couldn't hide behind her flirty persona no longer. Darling now truly knew for sure that she wanted to be more than mere _partners._ That she wasn't just some over affectionate Pistil crazy over her Stamen.

He now knew she wanted them to be lovers.

And if he had rejected her, her entire world would shatter into a million pieces. With just three words, she placed herself at the mercy of him. His next line would determine if she lived or died.

 _What had she done?_

Zero Two felt a burning sensation in her eyes as she tried to shut them to prevent the tears from falling. She didn't want to end her fairy tale like this. Her teeth chattered in place, with her entire body shaking as the sobs threatened to overtake her.

Stupid! So stupid! All she had to do was to keep playing the seductress, spend everyday with darling and keep her dream alive. All she had to do was to physically embrace and comfort him like she was currently doing and it would have all been fine.

But she had to ruin it by confessing her love.

He would NEVER love her, she was just some fling that he was using for her attractiveness.

Because she wasn't human.

And he would always prefer a human girl over a horned beast like her. It was a simple truth that extended to mere biology. Nobody would prefer to mate outside of their own species unless they were deviants.

Deviants like her, who had the audacity to fall in love with a human boy. To demand his heart in exchange for her tainted, filthy beast one.

How dare she pretend that she could mix with his kind just because she had her black wings ripped off by the witch?

How dare she commit the sin of inter-species courtship? Of intercourse?

She didn't deserve this raven haired boy's love. For she was but a mere beast masquerading as a human.

For he already had someone of his own kind to return to. A full blooded human that wished to pair with him and become his mate. How could she compare?

She was nothing but a half-breed. A hybrid.

A mongrel.

 **A beast and a human could never be together.**

As Zero Two relentlessly tore her own heart to pieces, she halted her previous actions and sobbed her heart out with her fists clenched onto his chest. Tears splattered and began to soak his uniform top as Zero Two bawled her heart out.

Overwhelmed by her sudden outpouring of emotions, Hiro did the first thing that crossed his mind.

He pulled Zero Two close to him into a hug and held her tightly as she sobbed into his chest.

"I'm sorry...! I'm sorry...! I said something really stupid so...! Please! Forget what I said! Please, lets just go back to how we were before!"

"Zero Two... I-"

"Don't say it! I know... I know I'm just a disgusting person, you wouldn't want someone like me as your lover. I hurt you. I sucked up your life force. I put your life at risk every time we pilot. I'm not even human!"

With every line, Zero Two condemned herself to hell. Hiro's voice choked in his throat as he realized how much she had been carrying behind her carefree and flirty persona. He was so dense to not realize how much she was hurting.

"Honestly...If you chose to be with Ichigo, I wouldn't even be angry at you. You would still be my darling in my heart, forever and always."

With watery eyes, Zero Two declared her intentions to unshackle his bonds and set him free. Free from being chained to her, the red horned beast.

Nodding to himself and taking in all the information that he was just provided with. Hiro exhaled as he cleared his head and calmly came to a decision.

In the meanwhile, Zero Two's wailing cries had softened to a soft, irregular sob every so often as she hid her face in Hiro's chest. Hiro merely maintained the hug in silence as he awaited her to calm herself to a more reasonable level of emotions. Once he felt that enough time had passed for her to gather herself, Hiro made his move.

In a steady voice, he called out to her.

"Zero Two."

Zero Two lifted her head and shyly looked at him as she awaited the reply that would seal her fate.

A percussive force greeted her head in lieu of any expected reply.

"Uweh!? Darling?!"

With her tongue cutely extended out, Zero Two cried out as he bopped her on the head.

"Are you serious?! Have your horns made you stupid or something!?"

"...Wha!? Don't call me stupid- Uweh! Darling!?"

Bopping her head once more, Hiro noted that she always extended her tongue out in a really cute manner whenever he bopped her head.

 _I'm going to do that more often if she keeps having that reaction._

"Stop hitting me!"

"I'll hit you as many times until your brain works you idiot!"

"My brain is working fine!" Zero Two whined childishly.

"No it's not! Tell me, what sense does it make for us to cuddle, hug, kiss and hold hands everyday as we flirt every waking moment that we spend together only for you to come crying your heart out that you're afraid I don't like you as anything more than a mere partner?!"

Blinking her eyes, Zero Two blushed as she looked away and scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

Oh right. That really didn't make sense now that he put it that way.

"Ehehe, maybe I've miscalculated somewhere."

Blocking the incoming hammer fist of bopping doom from her darling, Zero Two squealed out her apologies,

"Okay! Okay! I messed up badly! I'm sorry! I'm a total idiot!"

Giving out his best good-natured huff, Hiro settled back into hugging Zero Two.

But he found himself unable to stay annoyed at the pink haired girl after a few short moments. Deep down in his heart, he was overjoyed that he had managed to get through Zero Two deepest issues and insecurities. From now on, they would have nothing more to hide between the two of them. No more hidden personal issues that would have caused them angst.

Hiro truly felt like he had broken through and made a real, life-long connection with the horned girl.

However, the reality of being pressed against the hard floor of the library soon made itself known as his back protested at him from the soreness it had accumulated. As splendid as the current atmosphere was between the both of them, Hiro groaned as he realized that he needed to get off the ground before his back actually started to kill him.

Just when he was about to tell her to get off, Hiro noticed something about Zero Two that gave him a creeping sense of unease.

Zero Two had lifted herself on her elbows and held her face in her palms as she stared at him from her lying down position on top of him.

Hiro noticed with a sinking feeling in his stomach that she wasn't just about done with him yet judging from the twinkle that sparkled in her turquoise eyes.

"Daaaaarling~" Zero Two cooed, sending shivers of arousal and fear creeping up his neck.

 _Yup, something bad was definitely going to happen._

"Hmm?"

"You didn't confess yet."

Hiro winced at her accusatory tone.

"Well... you know... After everything we've said and done, you probably know the answer. Besides the momentum is kinda gone so...It's gonna feel really awkward for me to just randomly- OW WHAT ARE STOP THAT THAT HURTS!"

Zero Two mercilessly pulled his cheeks apart as she demanded her compensation confession from her darling.

"No way! You're not getting out of this one! I poured my entire heart out to you, darling! Now it's your turn to say the magic words!"

"Come on! Please don't do this, we were having a real good moment, you're spoiling it-OUCH OKAY OKAY STOP I'LL SAY IT!"

Releasing her pulls on his cheeks, Hiro rubbed on his cheeks that were smarting up in pain and hoped they wouldn't be too red and noticeable by the time he had to go meet someone else.

"I'm waiting~"

Clearing his throat, Hiro mumbled unintelligibly.

"...I will pull your cheeks again."

Clearing his throat once more and louder, this time. Hiro looked away in embarrassment as he huffed out in the most grumpy voice he could muster.

"...-ve you too."

"Hehe, someone's gonna get pinched~"

Swallowing his pride, Hiro drew upon his entire willpower reserves as he locked his eyes onto Zero Two's expectant gaze as he mumbled,

"I love you too."

But she wasn't done with him yet. Oh no, Zero Two was going to take some delicious revenge at her darling for bopping her head so many times.

"Love who?" She cooed.

Hiro rolled his eyes as he repeated himself.

"I love you, Zero Two." he huffed out.

Leaning close so her horns bumped into his head once more, Zero Two exhaled on his face as she proceeded with her final step of her revenge.

"Will that be your _final_ answer? **Dah-ling?** "

Hiro shivered as Zero Two's teasing gaze transmitted the very words that she wanted him to verbalize.

He truly had a merciless half-klaxosaur girl as his new lover.

Shutting his eyes in embarrassment, Hiro felt like all the blood in his body had just rushed to his face in a surge of heat. He hugged her close and buried his face into the crook of Zero Two's neck as to avoid the shame of her viewing his current expression as he cried out the words she was truly waiting for.

"I love you, _my princess._ "

Somehow, the squeal of delight in Zero Two's voice as she crushed him under her excited embrace made all the trouble and embarrassment of such an act worth it.

Just as she was about to dive in and kiss the ever loving crap out of her darling, the buzzing of his communicator rang out loud and clear as it ruined the shared moment between the two newfound lovers.

Rolling her eyes, she moved off her darling as he answered the incoming call.

"Boy, I need you to meet me in the Garage as soon as you can. Bring Zero Two with you. It's regarding Strelizia. Doctor Franxx out."

Without waiting for a reply, the doctor had already terminated the call.

Hiro looked over to Zero Two who was currently stretching out her body to remove the kinks that had accumulated from their position laying on the ground.

"Well you heard him, lets go then."

As he stood up, he felt Zero Two interlace her fingers with him once more. The shifting motion of such an act caused Hiro to realize that before meeting the doctor, there was something more important to be addressed as he glanced at Zero Two, who seemed to have realized it as well.

"...We need to go get some fresh clothes."

"Yeah..."

With a shared laugh, knowing look and interlaced hands between them, the new couple skipped their way towards the laundry room.

* * *

Shutting off his communicator, Werner Franxx grunted as he looked towards the Garage mechanics scurrying about as they rushed to complete the final modifications to Strelizia.

He prayed that it would be enough to see them through their next battle.

Under the harsh florescent lights of the Garage hangar, the air hummed with a buzz as the newly installed Magma Stakes mounted on Strelizia's arms and knees crackled to life.


	12. Chapter 11

Goro stirred as the rays of morning sunshine shone on his face. Grumbling to himself about the regimented lifestyles that Parasites led, Goro yawned as he stretched out the kinks that had accumulated in his body.

His eyes glanced over to the bed where he expected to see Hiro still snoozing away, like the non-morning person he always was.

Or where Hiro was supposed to be.

"He's already up…? That's strange. Ah, no matter. Time to get freshened up."

Grabbing his toothbrush and mug from it's place on his bedside dresser, Goro yawned once more as he shuffled his feet towards the bathrooms.

"I have to be faster in grabbing those bread rolls at the breakfast table later, Futoshi keeps taking the entire basket for himself."

Grumbling to himself about those delicious rolls made of wheat flour that always seemed to be in short supply due to the plus sized Stamen's grabby hands, Goro would soon come to realize that bread would be the least of his concerns as he twisted open the door knob that led to the bathrooms.

His mug and toothbrush clattered loudly in the silence of the bathroom as he took in the sight before him.

Hiro was slumped on the ground, an arm draped around the bath as his body twitched harshly, but, that wasn't what horrified Goro and made him widen his eyes in fear. Being a Parasite had hardened him as he became used to sights of injury and death.

If Hiro had just merely collapsed from exhaustion or something similar, Goro would not have missed a beat as he called for medical assistance on his communicator. No that wasn't it. It was something else entirely. The sight of Hiro's broken body set off painful pangs in his heart, but it was something else that made Goro's entire body shake in fear.

A pulsating blue mass was throbbing on Hiro's naked chest.

 _Like an infection._

As Goro fought the urge to retch at the disgusting blue mass that throbbed and pulsed on Hiro's chest, he shook his body in a desperate attempt to revive his best friend.

"Hiro…! Hey, wake up! Hiro…!"

It was useless. Hiro's glassy eyes saw nothing even as Goro frantically shook his body in an attempt to revive him.

Meanwhile, the frothy red blood never ceased to drool out of the corners of his lips as Hiro remained unresponsive to Goro's attempts.

Seeing no other option available to him, Goro pulled out his communicator as he prepared to call for an emergency medical team to be sent to their location.

A hard grip on his wrist stopped him from doing so.

Turning towards the source of the clamping pressure on his wrist, Goro eyes met Hiro's harsh glare.

* * *

"What is with these abnormal Yellow Blood Cell counts?"

Nana questioned in concern as she brought up the latest reports from Hiro's medical file.

"I'm amazed he's even alive." She grimaced.

"Yeah, it's a polar opposite reaction to the other Parasites that rode with Zero Two." Hachi noted.

"It'd be dangerous to let him ride with her again when we don't know the cause."

Nana frowned as she realized the danger one of her precious charges was about to be in.

"But we need Strelizia in the upcoming battle." Hachi pointed out.

Exhaling loudly in the chilly air of the temperature controlled command center, Nana murmured her misgivings.

"The next time is the third ride, huh…?"

 _Stay safe, Hiro._

* * *

"DON'T BULLSHIT ME!"

This idiot! Did he really think that he could try and pass it off as a minor ailment? That he was "fine"?

Goro felt his intelligence being insulted at Hiro's bald-faced lie.

"How long have you been collapsed in here? How long were you unconscious? Answer me, dammit!"

Hiro couldn't bring himself to meet his eyes. His eyes were glued to the tiles of the bathroom's floor as he confessed the truth,

"I don't remember. I woke up in the dead of the night to wash my face and cool off. Next thing I knew, you were here, yelling at me."

"You... don't remember?"

Goro's eyes narrowed as he realized the severity of the health issues plaguing his best friend.

"Hiro... You're... you're _sick._ You need to get help. Real help. Look, let's just go to the medical bay and-"

"NO!"

The sheer panic in Hiro's voice shook Goro to his core. In his entire life that he'd known Hiro for, he had never heard him come across as this desperate.

Or scared.

"Please, if you do that, they'll stop me from piloting with Zero Two. I have to keep piloting Franxx. If I don't, then there's no way I'll be able to protect everyone."

Goro ground his teeth in frustration as he heard Hiro's rationale. Shutting his eyes, Goro's brain went into overdrive as it tried to seek any solution where he could keep Hiro safe. Hiro, with Ichigo by extension, were the closest thing he had to a family in this broken and war torn reality. He would do anything to keep them safe from harm.

Even if it meant sacrificing himself.

With a heavy heart, Goro offered himself on the altar of self-sacrifice.

 _I'll do anything to keep him safe._

"...Take Ichigo."

"...eh?"

Hiro's eyes widened at the ridiculous words coming out from his roommate.

"If it's just piloting you're after, you can take Ichigo and Delphinium. I'll pilot Strelizia in your stead, so you don't have to hurt yourself any further."

"...You'll die."

Sucking in the deepest breath he could muster, Goro flashed a brilliant smile. It was a smile that covered up the fears and anxiety he was currently experiencing.

A smile which tore at Hiro's heart the moment he saw it.

"If that's what it'll take to keep you safe, I'll gladly do it for you."

Hiro's heart clenched at the sight of his best friend offering himself as a human sacrifice in his attempt to secure his safety. His eyes watered with hot tears as he mentally kicked himself.

He had spent so much time in the past few days focusing on Ichigo that he forgot that he had another person that he called family.

He nearly forgot that Goro cared for him as well. With such a true friend by his side, how could he allow himself to let Goro risk death or injury piloting with Zero Two while he hid away in the safety of Delphinium along with Ichigo?

If he did that, he would consider himself to be the utter scum of the earth.

He would have to see it through the end, with his own hands. He would not run away.

Zero Two was his responsibility and no one else's.

"...I will keep piloting with Zero Two."

"But why? If you keep doing this, you might die!"

Hiro rose his eyes and locked his gaze with Goro. Expressing his true feelings about his current bond with the infamous Partner Killer.

"Goro...I feel really alive right now."

"...!"

A noise was caught in Goro's throat as he recognized _that_ look in Hiro's eyes.

Hiro only carried that look when he had absolutely made up his mind. He knew that look.

After all, he had been friends with Hiro his entire life.

And he knew that nothing he could say from now on would be able to convince him otherwise.

"I haven't felt this way for a long time. My heart beats as if I've found my true calling in life." Hiro continued,

"I've never been happier in my life."

"...! You're happy?" Goro choked out.

"Yeah, and I want to give it my all in the upcoming mission. Along with everything possible in the future. I won't allow any more failures to occur."

"You're okay with this? Despite the pain and the risks... you're happy?"

Hiro grinned at Goro as he allowed his true feelings to surface.

"Yup!"

Casting his eyes downwards, towards his hands that were still clutched around his communicator. Goro felt the hammering of his heart as he realized he would have to make the most difficult decision in his entire life.

What would he value more in regards to Hiro?

His happiness?

Or his safety?

Just one click on the communicator and he would be able to guarantee Hiro's safety. On the screen of the communicator, the red icon of the emergency call taunted him as his fingers trembled.

He looked up once more at the pure smile that graced Hiro's face.

And made his decision.

"I'll turn a blind eye. I won't tell a single soul about this. Not even Ichigo."

Putting away the communicator in his jacket's pocket, Goro found that he did not possess the courage to meet Hiro's gaze.

"...Thank you."

As Hiro made to leave the room, Goro couldn't help but reach out to his best friend once more.

"You'll be happy right?"

"Yeah."

"This is what you want right?"

"Yeah."

"Even if it means your end?"

"Yeah."

As the tears broke out on his eyes, Goro held his face in his hands as he allowed his best friend to proceed with his own suicide.

"Then make it count! Be happy Hiro... No matter what, you have to chase that happiness and never let it go."

Hiro gently shut the door to the bathroom.

Flipping the sign outside to "OCCUPIED", he allowed Goro the privacy to shed his tears.

* * *

7 AM. Breakfast time.

Ichigo tapped her foot to pass the time as she rested against the grandfather clock on the stairs that linked both dormitory wings of the Parasite lodge. Going back to such a routine activity after the upheaval of the previous days provided a soothing and calming sensation to the blue haired Pistil. A smile broke across her face as she proceeded to indulge in one of her favorite childhood pastimes.

Escorting Hiro to breakfast every morning.

"Good morning! Did you sleep well?"

"Mhm, I did. Kinda wished breakfast was at 10 or something though, another 3 hours of sleep would be amazing..."

Ichigo rolled her eyes at that.

"Then it wouldn't even be breakfast anymore. You're thinking of brunch, which exists for those whose always sleep in whenever they're given the chance, like you." She teased.

Hiro made a sound of complaint as she skipped closer to him in order to begin her daily ritual of fussing over the raven haired boy.

Petting down the bed hair on his head that he'd missed and adjusting his bent collar, Ichigo's heart fluttered as she likened herself to a wife fussing over her husband before he'd left for work.

"Seriously, do you even comb your hair before coming downstairs?"

"Combing is overrated."

"And your collar too! Jeeze, you've got to start taking care of your appearance."

As Ichigo fussed over him, she slyly added,

"Or else no Pistil would ever want to be your partner you know."

Without missing a beat, Hiro deadpanned back to her,

"That's alright, if that ever happens, I can always fall back on you."

As the both of them laughed at his bad joke, Ichigo felt a creeping warmth spread across her cheeks. Having the old Hiro back and able to trade banter once more truly melted her heart.

She had missed this part of him the most. Ever since they had transferred to Plantation 13, she always felt the strain of comforting him throughout his periods of depression.

 _Seems like he's back to his old self now._

Perking up, she shifted the topic towards their last successful connection as they made their way to the mess hall.

"By the way, I was amazed that we managed to be so compatible in Delphinium. I was afraid that spending an entire year apart would have affected us, but it seems my fears were unfounded."

Ichigo's eyes flickered shyly towards him as she said that.

One of her greatest fears was having Hiro feel that she had changed as a Pistil during the past year where she was assigned to be Goro's partner.

No amount of words could state her relief when she found out that Hiro was able to connect with her and perform as flawlessly as they used to, back in the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group.

"Well, I have known you forever."

 _Yup! No one knew Hiro better than her._

"I knew you'd work something out."

Nodding her head, Ichigo vocalized her agreement.

"I'm glad you trust me so much."

Feeling her cheeks flush warmly at his smile, Ichigo turned her head as she proceeded to tease him.

"I was going to yell at you if you'd messed up, though."

"Ehhh? But that was an amazing dodge, I would have given it 70 points myself!" Hiro complained.

"More like 55 points. You overcompensated and your timings were too loose. You only got away with it because Zorome was a novice."

"Wow, hardass." Hiro smiled.

Bantering, teasing and subtle flirting. This was the sunny days that Ichigo looked forward to every single morning with him.

Days which brought a flush to her cheeks and a fluttering of her heart whenever she thought about them together.

Her hand crept closer to his as she tried not to seem too obvious with what she was attempting to do.

She recalled the warmth of their joined hands during their walk to the hangar. She remembered how he squeezed her hands in return in Delphinium's cockpit after the mock battle.

A little bit more and her perfect morning would be complete.

 _Holding hands whenever they were together. She liked the sound of that._

Just as she was about to close the final inches separating them and link their hands together, a familiar voice sounded off and shattered her wonderful dream of a perfect morning with Hiro.

"Morning, darling!"

 _Right. I was wondering when the homewrecker would show up._

Ichigo bitterly muttered to herself as she quickly withdrew her hand away.

"M-morning."

 _Don't stutter and blush like that just because she throws herself at you!_

As Ichigo fumed to herself, Zero Two proceeded to pour kerosene on the raging flames with a single action.

"This way, silly~"

Zero Two immediately laced her hands around his as she proceeded to lead Hiro to the meals awaiting them at the boys table.

"Uh, wait..."

Flashing an apologetic smile towards her, Hiro looked away in embarrassment as he was dragged away by Zero Two.

Ichigo's left eye ticked in frustration.

"Hey hey! You're a girl! Why're you coming to sit here?" Zorome shrieked as Zero Two unceremoniously sat on Hiro's lap.

 _She wanted to do that too._

Ichigo decided she had saw enough and cut in.

"Take your seats already. Zero Two, return to the girls table. Everyone, it's time to pray."

Using her best "Team Leader" voice, Ichigo glared at Zero Two as she reluctantly shuffled her way back to the girls table.

Zero Two shot her a dirty look as she passed by,

"Bossy bitch."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Ichigo deadpanned back as Zero Two proceeded to furiously drown her entire plate of food in honey.

* * *

"Your Franxx all have unique designs."

Code 090 noted as the Plantation 13 squad brought their counterparts from Plantation 26 on a tour through the Franxx hangars.

"What are you talking about?" Goro queried.

Unique? What had he meant by that? He had assumed that Parasites throughout the Ground Forces were issued with customized Franxx like theirs.

"Aren't these the norm?" He finished.

"Of course not. For reasons regarding cost efficiency and teamwork, we are issued Standard Franxx in our Table of Organization and Equipment. That goes to all other squads that I know of as well."

"Huh..."

"I've been told you're a hastily assembled test team. That would explain the non-uniform designs of your Franxx. But, it leaves other questions unanswered."

"Which is?"

Goro scratched his head as Code 090 stopped in front of a familiar white and red Franxx. In front of Strelizia.

"I have never heard of a Franxx's design being modified after it has left the production line."

Code 090 pointed out to the upgraded machine that stood before him. Towards the inscription on the right breastplate of the iron maiden of steel.

FRX-01C.

Strelizia Custom.

Strelizia arm guards were removed in place of additional fixed armaments. Mounted on both forearms were a trio of steel tubes stacked upon each other such that it formed the shape of a triangle. At the flick of a switch, magma energy could be directed to super-heat these steel tubes and provide additional force behind it's blows.

These Magma Stakes were specifically designed to compliment the close quarters fighting style preferred by Hiro, where he seemingly preferred to close in and engage hand to hand with his opponents.

Glancing downwards, Goro saw that the armor plates covering Strelizia's kneecaps were removed. In it's place, an additional Magma Stake was installed on each leg such that a portion of the steel tubes extended outwards from it's kneecaps.

Removing the armor on the knee module to improve airflow and assist in cooling the Magma Stakes, Goro noted.

Additional boosters installed on the rear of each calf rounded off the modifications to Strelizia. Providing the dual purpose role of improving mobility and serving as an extra force multiplier in it's kicks.

Goro took in the sight of Strelizia Custom once more and made a tally of the modifications.

Three on each forearm, one on each leg.

All in all, Strelizia had the addition of eight Magma Stakes to call upon as part of it's fixed armaments.

 _Damn, Hiro. That looks amazing._

Giving an appreciative whistle, Goro marveled at Doctor Franxx's latest creation.

Some individuals however, proved to have a particularly bad case of sour grapes.

"That's just because he's Papa's golden boy, nothing more. We would get such upgrades if we had patches on our shoulders as well."

Zorome complained in jealousy as he took in the extent of Strelizia's changes. He wanted an upgrade to Argentea too! With a cool name like "Argentea Custom" or something like that!

 _Seems like we live in different worlds after all. We're just plebeians compared to the elites._

 _But Delphinium wasn't modified, despite it being piloted by a double digit duo, so what's was so special about Hiro?_

Zorome's indignation was broken by the inquisitive voice of Code 090, who seemingly shrugged off Zorome's outburst without missing a beat.

"And that brings me to my second question."

"Which is?" Goro replied.

With piercing eyes, Code 090 inquired about the elephant in the room.

"Why is the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group even attached here to provide direct oversight towards this test team in the first place?"

Goro gulped as he couldn't find an answer to satisfy him.

* * *

"I can't believe she's late again! And during a multi-squad briefing no less! Hey Goro, you really need to keep a better eye on your Pistil or she's gonna keep running off with Hiro all the time."

Miku complained once more as she jabbed Goro with her elbows. He rolled his eyes as he let her continue.

"Seriously! Our squad looks like it's in total shambles right now! Mitsuru is still in the infirmary, our team leader is absent, Ikuno isn't here since there's no Stamen for her and now even Hiro has gotten lost somewhere. I bet we look like a total mess to Squad 26."

Goro shrugged his shoulders as he unleashed his ultimate weapon that he possessed in his "Team Dad" arsenal to calm irritated Pistils. This secret weapon was finely honed over the many years where he had plentiful chances to practice his technique on Ichigo.

It was a weapon so powerful, so secretive, that he had to carefully ration it's use to avoid it being resisted by the enemy through overuse.

He flexed his wrists as he prepared to unleash the famed Goro Headpats™.

 _With great power, came great responsibility._

With a solemn nod, Goro started to pet Miku's head.

"There there. I'm sure both of them have a good reason for running late."

He noticed the weird look that Zorome was giving him.

"What? You want some too? Well come over then, Daddy Goro has two hands to pet heads with." He deadpanned.

With a huff, Zorome glanced at Miku as he joined in on her complaining.

"Oh don't worry, I bet those elites didn't want to lower themselves by getting packed here with us in this crowded briefing room. I'm sure they'll get a special, private briefing later from Hachi."

 _Those two have more in common then they think._

Goro thought as he rolled his eyes.

Clearing his throat, Hachi stood in front of the main display of the briefing room as he grabbed attention from the combined Parasites of Squad 13 and 26.

"Settle down everyone. I'll now explain the defense plan for the upcoming Kissing operation."

Miku ceased her grumblings as she sat upright in her seat and paid attention to Hachi's briefing.

"We've detected Klaxosaurs an hour ago, at a distance of approximately 3000 meters. They number anywhere from 100 to 150."

A gasp rocked out from the side of the room where Squad 13 were huddled together.

"O-One hundred and fifty?!" Futoshi cried out.

"That number is expected to go even higher." Hachi nodded as he continued.

"Their estimated time of arrival is around 33 hours from now. No matter how we rush, we can't complete the kissing process before they get here. Thus, combat is unavoidable."

Every parasite in the room had their backs straighten up at Hachi's declaration. Even though they had the manpower of two combined squads, they would have to tackle an entire pack of Klaxosaurs head on. It was by no means a minor operation.

"So we're going to place a line of defense here, with Squad 26 at the vanguard."

A yellow line was drawn in front of both Plantations on the main display as the designated Main Line of Resistance.

"Squad 13 will standby in the rear as backup."

"What? Backup?" Zorome questioned as he looked towards Hachi for an explaination.

However, his query would be intercepted by Code 090 instead.

"This will be a chaotic dogfight. Our squad can link up better if we go at it ourselves. Besides, Squad 13 is under-strength isn't it? One of your Stamens is still bed ridden and you guys are a unit down. I think this is the best strategy."

"Tsk. Did he just call us dead weight?"

Miku muttered among her squad. But she knew, deep in her heart that Code 090 was correct. Their squad truly seemed like it was a lost cause from the way they had displayed their available strength, with nearly a third of their members missing or in the infirmary.

The sound of a cough drew attention to the front of the room once more.

"Moving on. Defending the main pipe linking the two Plantations together takes top priority. With that in mind, I have decided to deploy a Franxx that's capable of solo combat there."

Raising his hand, Code 090 asked the question that was on everyone's minds.

"Do we really have such a Franxx?"

His inquiry would be answered by the hissing sound of the door of the briefing room sliding open.

"That's...!"

* * *

"Alright, stick to the plan like we discussed. Ichigo, stand on his right. Zero Two, just hang back for a bit. You don't want to scare the Squad 26 newcomers off just yet."

"Tsk. Guess fame has it's disadvantages too huh, darling?"

Hiro rolled his eyes as the three of them stood outside the entrance of the briefing room as Nana gave out her instructions. He knew something was up when Nana called the trio on their communicators and made them tag along with her before the briefing commenced.

"Hiro, please don't bring that look on your face when you enter. This is a good morale boost to the Parasites. We will need every advantage we can get for the upcoming battle. Who knows? Maybe you'll save lives on the battlefield by inspiring them to fight harder."

He grimaced to himself at the sound of that. Nana was going to take full advantage of the fact that Plantation 13 currently possessed what remained of APE's top pilot squadron. His eyes flickered to the shoulder patches that both of them carried.

The wings of a Valkyrie with a dagger splitting it down the middle.

APE Special Tactical Fighter Training Group.

The Aggressors.

At that very moment, Hiro hated the fact that Ichigo and him was about to be used in what basically amounted to a propaganda move.

He just wanted to be treated like anyone else. To be sortied onto the battlefield and fight.

And to die.

Hiro felt the bubbling anger build up within him and threaten to spill out until he felt a warm sensation encase his right hand.

"It'll be okay. Just think about the good we'll do. Whatever happens, I'll always be by your side."

Exhaling loudly as he felt the tension leave his body, Hiro returned her squeeze.

Ichigo always had that magical effect of knowing exactly what to say to ground him back to reality.

 _That's the scary power of a childhood friend for you._

His musings was interrupted by a loud hiss and an increase in killing aura that made the back of his neck sweat.

 _Ohhhhh she's so gonna kill me later._

He winced as he felt Ichigo squeeze his hand even tighter in response to Zero Two's reaction behind them.

 _Yup. I'm dead for sure. I hope the locks to my room are still working._

Shaking his head to refocus himself, he heard Hachi's voice leak through the closed door of the briefing room.

"-Franxx that's capable of solo combat there."

"Not yet, wait for it..."

Nana's eyes narrowed as she hovered her access pass over the door's entry terminal.

"Do we really have such a Franxx?"

"Now!"

Nana's hiss was mirrored by the door as she unlocked the entrance to the briefing room.

Taking a deep breath and focusing on the warmth in his right hand. Hiro strode in step with Ichigo as they entered the briefing room to hushed silence.

Voice rapidly fell away as the Parasites in the briefing room quickly identified the newcomers. Even the usually rowdy Squad 13 followed suit as the entire room, buzzing with conversation and noise just moments before, fell into hushed silence.

Hiro felt every pair of eyes place their gaze on the both of them.

In that fleeting moment, he truly understood the responsibility he shouldered, and the duty he was entrusted with as APE's ace pilot of the entire Ground Forces.

And the legacy and heritage that he carried.

Hiro slowly walked towards the conference area, chin up and eyes looking forward. He was dressed in his normal uniform, the emblem of his pride fixed over his shoulders. Ichigo flanked him to complete the image, hands clasped with his, as Zero Two and Nana followed in his wake.

At that very moment, he took in and fully absorbed every sensation currently rolling through his body.

The waves of awe and admiration.

The warmth in his hand as Ichigo squeezed it to reassure him.

And the sight of the Parasites of Squad 26 slowly rising from their seats in respect as the twin sets of Wings and Daggers glinted under the lights as they strode towards the conference area. The only sounds being the rustling of fabric as it betrayed the silence of the briefing room.

 _This was why he poured his entire life and soul into piloting Franxx. This was his reward, richly deserved and fully earned._

Behind him, Zero Two looked around the room in muted awe as Squad 13 copied the actions of their counterparts and rose from their seats in deference as well. Although, Zorome had to be coaxed and tugged by Miku to follow her action.

"Have they no shame? It's an operational briefing, not an APE propaganda highlight reel." Zorome muttered.

"Just stand you idiot. You'll make us look bad if you keep sitting."

As Zorome complied to her insistent tugging, Miku felt a shiver run through her body as she realized how _different_ Hiro looked.

A pleasurable shiver that made knots curl in her tummy.

With a fleeting surge of jealousy running through her as she witnessed how Ichigo strode alongside Hiro with her hand in his, Miku narrowed her eyes and shot a dirty glance at Ichigo.

 _Papa I wish that was me._

With a quick glance at Goro, Miku made a good-natured jab at Code 090's expense.

"He's outrageous! But you have to admire Hiro. There's poor Code 090. He's our field leader for the entire operation, but no one got up for him."

Goro gave a quick chuckle at Miku's jab, but there was a look in his eye that gave Miku pause as she noticed him shaking his head at the entire scene.

"...Goro?"

Shaking his head once more as he spoke in a hollow voice,

"No...no. I know that look in his eye. Hiro thinks-"

Miku held her breath as she awaited Goro to finish. Something in her mind told her that something was terribly wrong.

Goro felt off.

This was bad. Goro never felt off. Why was she getting such feelings of unease?

And then Miku realized the reason for her unease.

She had never seen Goro look so shaken during her entire time in the Squad.

"Hiro thinks he's the savior of Humanity." He spat out.

Miku blinked as her mind processed his words. Glancing at the duo that had stopped in the center of the conference area, Miku felt a sense of unease creep through her body.

As the impromptu ceremony died down, Code 090 motioned towards the Parasites to return to their seats as he stepped forward and extended his hand towards Hiro.

"Sir, it's an honor to serve with you. Will the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group be participating in the upcoming mission?"

Nodding stiffly, Hiro returned the gesture with a quick handshake.

"Yes."

At his curt reply, a round of cheers broke out among the Parasites of Squad 26. Nodding with a smile on his face, Code 090 continued,

"That's great to hear, sir. Would you prefer if I transferred field command to you?"

"Regrettably, I'll have to reject the offer. Strelizia will be held in reserve as the solo combat unit defending the pipeline. It won't be engaging in general combat duties on the MLR. You will have a clearer picture of the battlefield as compared to me and as such, you should retain field command."

"I see, in that case- Wait! Did you just say Strelizia?!"

With a final squeeze of his hands to reassure him for the upcoming confrontation, Ichigo nodded at Hiro as she released their hands and left his side to rejoin the rest of their Squad.

Hiro felt a soft grip on his shoulder as he heard a purr from behind him. The purr which never failed to cause him to shiver in pleasure and anticipation.

 _Oh that purr which made him think such naughty, naughty thoughts in his mind.  
_

"Why yes, darling here is going to be my partner. You got any problems with that, fodder?"

"Code 002!"

Code 090 gasped in shock as he saw Zero Two reveal herself from Hiro's wake.

"I assume that Papa has given his approval to sortie Strelizia then?" Hachi asked Nana.

"Yes, we are a go. Hiro will pilot Strelizia as Zero Two's partner."

Hachi nodded as he agreed with Nana's clarification.

"This is the best course of action right now. Strelizia has unsurpassed performance among all of our units, even more so after it's recent upgrade."

"Got it." Hiro replied.

"Please, wait a second!"

All eyes fell on Code 090 as he strode forward to interrupt the current ongoing conversation occurring at the front of the briefing room.

Hiro noted how plainly obvious the agitation affecting him was.

"We can't fight alongside Strelizia!" He appealed.

"The plan is final." Hachi's cold voice booked no argument.

 _For once, your crappy personality is put to good use. Go Hachi!_

Hiro felt a strange feeling creep up upon him as he realized that he was actually cheering Hachi on for the first time in his life.

 _...What am I even doing._

"But...! That girl doesn't care about her allies! We can't trust someone like the Partner Killer to have our backs! Code 002, you know what I mean."

"What are you talking about?" Zero Two cocked her head in puzzlement.

Everyone's ears perked up as they latched on the information Code 090 was about to provide them.

"The joint operation two years ago!" Code 090's voice cracked as he shouted.

"Your reckless fighting style got us isolated on the battlefield and I lose my partner!"

The entire Squad 13 froze as they watched Code 090, who they came to saw as a cool and composed figure, scream himself hoarse by the end of his rant.

Panting from exertion , Code 090 glared as he awaited Zero Two to defend her past actions.

However, if he was looking for an admission of guilt or sympathy, he had come to the wrong place.

 _Because she didn't give two damns about anyone except her darling._

"Huh... Doesn't ring a bell. Weaklings die. Big deal."

Hiro frowned at Zero Two's callousness. However, he would need to talk to her about that later.

Because he now needed to defuse an incoming fight from the approaching Code 090.

Putting himself in between Code 090 and Zero Two, Hiro proceeded to intercept the angry Stamen.

"I'll stop anything bad from happening. You have my word on that. I'm Strelizia's Stamen, I'll have control over Zero Two."

As Hiro finished his sentence, he facepalmed as he realized that he could have worded that better. He really was too easygoing in giving Zero Two ammunition to publicly embarrass him with.

 **"That's what he says, but you should see who's really in control when we're in bed-OOF!"**

Zero Two's purring was cut off by a quick elbow jab from Hiro as he immediately covered her mouth and shushed her. He prayed to the heavens above that she wouldn't bite his hand as he wrestled her back towards the Squad 13 side of the conference area.

The warm, wet and sticky feeling of her licking his palms caused him to blush throughout the entire journey.

* * *

The cool refreshing night air rejuvenated Hiro after the drama in the briefing room. He knew going for a relaxing night walk alone was the correct idea. The sound of crickets soothed his mind as he drew the fresh and cooling night air into his lungs once more.

A rustling in the bushes alerted him that he had a visitor. Closing his eyes, he called out to the only person who he knew possessed the ability to predict his actions and find him in the forested areas of Mistilteinn.

In the dead of the night.

 _That's the scary power of a childhood friend for you. Seriously, is she a tracker or a childhood friend?_

"Ichigo?"

"I'm sorry if I interrupted your relaxation. But there's something important that I need to talk to you about."

Her clear green orbs shone in the night as she approached him with a determined look on her face.

"Is something the matter?"

"In the upcoming mission, I want you to pilot Delphinium with me."

"...!"

Hiro gasped at the bluntness of her request. For Ichigo to be this direct with him, she must have truly felt as if she was backed into a corner. His heart clenched painfully at the thought that he might be hurting her once more.

"You know we can't do that. We're already a unit down since Mitsuru is still recovering. If we lose Strelizia too, the odds for the upcoming battle will be grim."

"I believe we can do it, if it's you and me in Delphinium. We can still protect everyone."

This was her last chance to save Hiro. Nothing else mattered anymore. She would gladly endure all the scorn in the world from her squad that she was being an unfaithful Pistil to Goro if it meant saving Hiro.

Because the next ride was the 3rd time.

And it would kill him.

"If you do that, who will Goro pilot with?"

Hiro pointed out the usual flaws in her plan. This was the elephant in the room whenever Ichigo wanted to return to their previous piloting relationship as a permanent measure.

However, he had underestimated Ichigo's dedication.

"Ikuno and Chlorophytum are still available. Goro can go with them."

Hiro's eyes widened at her suggestion.

 _This girl really planned it out before coming here, huh?_

"Ichigo... Do you understand what you are even suggesting? Do you know how will everyone view you if you pull this off?"

Hiro attempts at gently persuading her was an utter failure as he underestimated the depths of Ichigo's devotion once more.

"I don't care. Even if the entire world hates me, I will protect you, Hiro."

"Papa has already issued sortie orders for Strelizia. Zero Two will be sent out and someone else would have to take my place. Are you saying you would sacrifice Goro just to keep me safe?" Hiro accused.

Ichigo's voice choked in her throat at Hiro's tone. She...She...

 _Just say yes. Burn this entire world down if you have to. Protect Hiro at any cost.  
_

But no matter how much her mind whispered the toxic thoughts of throwing everything aside to be with him, Ichigo recalled the goofy smile on Goro's face.

She couldn't bring herself to trade one life for another.

She wasn't a heartless witch.

Hot tears welled in her eyes as she realized she had reached the limits of her persuasion.

Hiro's heart ripped itself to pieces as he saw the tears stream down Ichigo's face. But it was a necessary evil, he told himself. He needed to protect everyone, with his own hands.

Zero Two was his responsibility and no one else's. He couldn't just dump that onto another Stamen and condemn them to death.

Not especially if it was Goro's life at stake.

Hardening his heart, he whispered an apology to the sobbing Ichigo as he made to return back to the Parasite lodge. His teeth chattered as he heard the cries of Ichigo behind him as he forced his body to drive every foot forward into the ground away from her.

He made Ichigo cry again.

He had _fucked_ up once more.

Shivering from the emotions that ran through his body, Hiro cursed himself to the grave as he struggled to increase the distance between them.

That was until he felt an impact his back and an embrace of arms holding him dear.

Ichigo's quivering voice betrayed her emotional state as she more or less outright begged him to stay.

To stay with her, by her side.

"I won't let you!"

"...Ichigo?!"

The arms she had locked around his waist tightened painfully as Ichigo put every ounce of her strength into restraining the raven haired boy.

 _She would beg and grovel on the muddy ground if needed. She would do anything to keep him safe._

"I'm not letting you go! If you go back to her, your life is forfeit! I'll lose you forever!"

As her voice rang out in the silence of Mistilteinn's forests, Ichigo continued,

"I'll rather die than let that happen!"

Hiro felt his eyes water as the raw emotions released from Ichigo slammed into his heart.

There she was, sobbing and screaming her heart out, begging him to stay. He felt disgusted at himself for hurting such a pure soul like her.

But he had to go.

This broken world wasn't kind to pure souls like Ichigo.

Sometimes, desire found itself powerless in the face of fate.

With tears dripping from his face, he gently stroked the hands that were locked around him.

"I'm scared too, you know."

"...!?"

Ichigo's eyes widened at the honesty in his voice.

"I know I'm probably going to die the next time I get onboard Strelizia, and that scares me. It scares me more than anything. I'm just putting on a brave front, to be honest."

"If so!... Then just come with me! Hiro-"

"But I must go."

With a gentle but firm application of force, Hiro pried open her interlocked fingers and released himself from her grip.

"...Why? Why do you go so far? For someone like her? To the point you're willing to throw your life away like it means nothing to you...!"

Hiro turned around as he saw the shivering wreck that was currently Ichigo.

Extending his hands out, he stroked her cheek as he replied.

"It's not about Zero Two. It's about what I want to protect. And there are some things in my life that I have to protect. No matter what."

His blazing green-blue orbs told her exactly what he had meant by that.

 _Which made her feel even worse._

"You don't need to protect me. I'm an ace pilot like you. I can protect myself, or even better, we can protect each other! So please, pilot Delphinium with me once more!"

Hiro shut his eyes as he prepared to let her down and shatter her heartfelt appeal.

"I will not trade one life for another. With my very own hands, I will pilot Strelizia and protect everyone. Especially you."

Ichigo heart froze as she recognized the conviction in his eyes.

 _Of course she recognized it, she knew him better than anyone._

"So you've made your final decision then."

"Yeah. I have."

Ichigo wiped the tears off her face using the sleeves of her pajamas. She wanted herself as clean as possible for the next step.

 _Because it might be the final chance she could get._

"I don't agree with you... But there's something I have to tell you before you go."

 _There's a strange look in her eyes. Something bad always happens when she gets that fire lighted up in her eyes._

"Yeah, you can tell me anythin-!"

His voice was cut off by the sensation of her lips crashing against his. With his brain self-destructing from the unexpected events that had just occurred, Hiro began to idyllically compare her kissing technique to Zero Two.

 _Well I take it back, maybe I was wrong when I assumed something bad would happen._

Unlike Zero Two, Hiro could feel her lips quivering as Ichigo forced herself to perform a bold act that was completely unlike her usual demure self.

His heart melted in adoration as felt her body shiver in fear as she pressed herself forward into the kiss. Her hands cradling his face as she poured her heart out through the current physical act of affection between them.

 _Always forcing herself to do things she was uncomfortable with for his sake. Idiot Ichigo, stop pushing yourself so hard all the time.  
_

After what seemed like an eternity, Ichigo pulled away from their shared kiss.

Hiro's eyes followed the bridge of saliva that connected their lips as if it's swaying hypnotized him. It's slight swaying motion imparting Hiro with a flush of heat that raced through his body as he comprehended the sheer lewdness that such a display provided.

 _How could something so wrong feel so right?_

The snapping of the thread of saliva finally brought him back to his senses and he shook his head to refocus his attention towards Ichigo, whose blazing green eyes shone with passion.

With nothing left to lose, Ichigo pushed forward as she confessed her heart out for the second time with the clearest language she could find within herself.

"I enjoyed the kiss we shared during the mock battle. I want to be with you forever!"

Hiro's heart surged forward in happiness until a dark whisper stopped all of that. The dousing of his happiness felt like a bucket of iced water was dumped on his head.

 _He had already pledged himself to Zero Two._

This wasn't going to work. No matter how much their chemistry sparked in the current atmosphere of racing hearts between them.

 _He belonged to Zero Two._

Fear gripped Hiro's body once more as he realized the mistake he was about to make.

 _But what if the mistake feels so right? What then?_

Harshly squeezing his eyes shut, Hiro couldn't help but listen to the rest of Ichigo's confession.

"I can do anything for you. It's true. I mean, I've always... You've always been my everything."

 _Stop, Ichigo. Please stop, if you go any further..._

"Ever since we were kids, I've-"

 _Something between us will irreversibly change!_

"I've always, always had eyes for you alone."

 _What was this creeping sense of fear and anticipation that filled his body? This was wrong! He didn't want this!_

 _Or did he?_

"I..."

 _STOOOOOP!_

With a final punch to his chest to hype herself up, Ichigo's eyes shone with unshed tears as she cried out the words that buried their current status as childhood friends into the grave.

"I love you, Hiro!"

At that very moment, there was no one else in the entire world who Hiro hated more than himself.

 _For feeling his heart flutter from the wave of thrill that washed over his body._

 _Even though his mind screamed at him that this was wrong, his heart betrayed him._

As if the universe itself was having a laugh at his current predicament, the first drops of rain began to fall.

* * *

Goro glanced at the clock in the courtyard and yawned. How long did Ichigo plan to take? Ever since he noticed her sneaking off into the forest in the dead of the night, he already knew the reason for her breaching of their curfew.

 _Not like it was difficult to tell, the way she wore her heart on her sleeve when it came to Hiro._

Goro rolled his eyes as he realized figuring out the rationale behind Ichigo's irrational behavior didn't exactly require an expert detective to solve.

The soft patters of footsteps alerted him to her return from her late night rendezvous.

Ichigo looked absolutely devastated.

Glancing downwards for a moment as he felt a stab of pain shoot through his heart at her sorry state, he called out to Ichigo and flung the hand towel he was holding on for her.

"Here, you'll catch a cold."

Ichigo made a squeak as the dry and warmed fabric collided with her head. Unable to bring herself to meet his eyes, Ichigo muttered,

"Thanks. I just went out to take care of something."

"I know. Hiro, right?"

"...!"

"Come on, give me some credit. I'm not that oblivious."

Ichigo's eyes widened in fear as she questioned Goro.

"Did you see the whole thing?"

"No, I tried to give you guys your privacy so I waited in the courtyard. I didn't hear anything as well."

Ichigo felt terrible at herself for suspecting Goro of spying on them. He wasn't the type of person who would do that. Yet, she immediately latched on to the worst case scenario.

 _She really was a terrible person._

"I don't know what to do."

At the end of her rope, Ichigo found herself spilling everything out for Goro to hear. Goro, to his credit, understood perfectly the symptoms of a distressed Ichigo and prepared to listen to her troubles.

"I'm supposed to be the leader, and he and I go way back, but I couldn't stop Hiro from going back to Zero Two and throwing his life away."

Goro nodded as he allowed her to continue.

"I couldn't stop him. But she's there for him now, and that's what Hiro wants, apparently."

Goro scratched his head as he wondered how he could calm her down.

That was until he heard Ichigo utter something that made the blood in his veins turn to ice.

"But I'll stop them, no matter what, I will save Hiro. Even if he hates me, I will protect him."

"...!"

"I will protect him... I will protect him... I will protect him..."

As Ichigo's desperate mind broke down, she found herself mumbling to no one in particular.

"Hey! Stop that! Wake up Ichigo, this isn't like you!"

Shaking her by the shoulders, Goro desperately tried to pull Ichigo back to reality.

"What do you know about me and him!? I tried so hard. I tried and I tried and I tried. But he keeps going back to her! It's easy for someone like you to let it go easily-" Ichigo snapped at him.

"That's not true, he's my best friend-" Goro found himself cutoff by Ichigo's shouting.

"That's different! I don't see him as a mere friend, I want something more than that! I love him!-"

"I LOVE HIRO TOO!"

"...!"

Shocked into silence from Goro's outburst, Ichigo's eyes widened at the panting boy in front of her that was hunched over, gasping for breath.

Filling his sore lungs with air, Goro jabbed an accusing finger towards Ichigo.

"I love Hiro too! He's the closest thing I have to a family! You think I see him just as a 'best friend'? He's my brother!"

"Goro..." She murmured.

"If there was only a single grave between me and him, I would gladly jump in and bury myself to ensure his safety."

"So you do agree with me then-"

Her heart shattered once more for the second time of the night as Goro furiously cut her off.

"But! But...!"

Placing his hands over her shoulders and fixing his determined eyes onto her green orbs, Goro did the one thing Ichigo feared the most.

He betrayed her.

"Ichigo, **we** have to stop caging him."

"What are you talking about...? Goro...? Have you gone insane? Are you listening to yourself?"

Ichigo frantically laughed as she heard the insane words leave the lips of her best friend.

 _Surely Goro wouldn't believe that-_

Her thoughts were interrupted as Goro reaffirmed his insanity.

"He's happy Ichigo. He's the happiest he's ever been in his life. We have to let him go now. Let him spread his wings and soar, even if it brings his demise. Because he deserves happiness, more than anyone of us." Goro continued.

"Ichigo, we cannot chain him down to the earth with our selfishness anymore."

As those words left his mouth, Goro felt himself forcefully shoved backwards.

Hard.

But if he thought the notion of Ichigo getting physically aggressive was one thing that surprised him, nothing could prepare him for what came next from her.

He heard her hiss sharply through clenched teeth.

Goro choked on his saliva when he heard that. Never in his entire life had he ever heard Ichigo sound in that manner.

 _Never._

Goro gulped in fear at the harsh glint that lit up her green orbs and tainted it's beauty.

"If no one else cares about Hiro's safety, **I will.** "

"Ichigo! That's-"

"If no one else wants to protect Hiro, **I will.** "

"You don't understand, I want to protect him too-"

"If no one else bothers to think of his well-being, **I will.** "

"Just calm down Ichigo, let's talk it out! We can figure something out!"

Despite the amount of pleading Goro had inserted in his voice as he begged Ichigo to return to reason, the sharp glint in her eerily clear green eyes struck fear into his heart.

"You know Goro... I thought you of all people would understand. But no matter, **I'll protect Hiro by myself if I have to.** "

Ichigo _smirked_ at the shivering blonde that laid on the ground before her.

* * *

"Hey, darling."

"Mmm?"

"The next ride is the 3rd time you know?"

"Yup."

"Scared?"

"Yup."

"Good. I'm scared too."

"That makes two of us, then."

As he snuggled into Zero Two's embrace on her bed, he felt the blue pulsing mass on his chest being gently massaged by her soft hands.

Peering out the window into the morning sunlight, he noticed a bird soaring through the skies.

Before it crashed into the transparent glass dome that surrounded Mistilteinn with a sickening crunch.


	13. Chapter 12

_"Current distance to klaxosaur group: approximately 4000."_

 _"ETA is still 0210 hours."_

 _"Bulwark in the last line of defense now 85 percent complete."_

 _"Estimated to be completed by 2200 hours."_

 _"Squads 26 and 13 are to stand by for combat by 2030 hours."_

"They're moving in a pack. Then that huge mass could likely be a klaxosaur, too." Hachi marked the cluster of dots on the display as he continued.

"But I've never seen one like it before. Contact the Doctor for his assessment on the unknown specimen."

Nana nodded as she prepared to send her report to Doctor Franxx.

* * *

In the locker room, Kokoro voiced her reservations as the Pistils of Squad 13 prepared to change into their piloting suits.

"I heard the klaxosaur numbers are higher than estimated. Not to mention we're down a unit since Mitsuru is still in the infirmary. Do you think we'll be able to come back here alive?"

She glanced towards the corner where Ichigo was silently changing without a word with her back faced towards the other girls. Her entire form emitted an aura so cold that she could freeze the moisture in the air, if it was possible.

Kokoro bit her lip as she struggled to understand the lack of communication coming from their usually demanding team leader. The lack of Ikuno's presence added to the loneliness of the atmosphere surrounding the locker room.

"We'll be fine. After all, I'm sure we can just let Squad 26 handle everything. You know, since we're dead weight, apparently." Miku huffed out as she complained about her perceived slight from Code 090.

Turning her head towards her non-responsive team leader, Miku noticed that Ichigo had frozen in place, with her fingers brushing against her lips. Everyone who had half their wits around them could already figure out the cause of Ichigo's daydreaming.

Ichigo being such a Miss Heart-On-Her-Sleeve whenever it came to matters regarding Hiro.

Clucking her tongue in irritation at such a sight, Miku prodded Ichigo out of her wandering thoughts.

"You're being awfully timid for once, leader."

At the sound of the jab that Miku shot her way, Ichigo broke out of her reverie with a jolt as she turned to respond.

"I was just thinking about the upcoming mission, that's all."

Miku rolled her eyes at her crappy acting skills.

"Sure sure. Just make sure you don't get distracted like that on the battlefield, leader."

Ichigo bit back a sarcastic reply about Miku's freshly removed bandages from their mock battle as she entered the suiting pods.

* * *

"Fighting such a huge pack of klaxosaurs without Chlorophytum, we have to put our best effort forward for this mission." Futoshi spoke as the boys strode down the hall in their piloting suits.

"Hey hey bread boy, don't go wimping out on us now. We've got me, Zorome the Great, on our side."

"Well, that aside, I'm glad that we can count on Strelizia this time!"

Zorome groaned as he saw the marvel in Futoshi's eyes as he immediately latched onto the hope that Strelizia's power would carry them through the upcoming mission. Seriously, did the plump boy have no shame? A real man needs to stand on his own two feet without always coming to rely on others to rescue him!

"Anyway, we're not letting Squad 26 steal all the kills! I plan to take out at least 30 klaxosaurs when we get out there!"

As Goro found himself zoning out from all the mindless chatter between his fellow Stamens, his eyes rested on another pair of green orbs that had just arrived into the hallway from the Pistil's locker room. Memories of their argument last night came flooding back to the forefront of his mind as he found himself consciously slowing down his pace and turning into a straggler from the rest of the Stamens as he sought to avoid Ichigo.

The tension between the two of them was so palpable that even both groups paused to share uneasy glances among each other.

After what seemed to be an eternity of silence, Goro finally decided that enough was enough and gathered up his courage to face her and break the deadlock between them. As his eyes met her green orbs, he realized that she wasn't even bothered by the oppressive atmosphere between them at all.

Because her eyes were already set on something in the distance behind him.

 _Of course. Nothing else matters to her after all._

Goro couldn't help but allow the bitter thoughts to pollute his mind as he heard the tell-tale click-clacks of Ichigo heels ringing awfully loudly in the hallway as she breezed past him.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, he made his way towards the hangars where Delphinium awaited him.

* * *

"Ack, this feels tighter around my wrist than it should be... I need to stop giving in to Zero Two's habit of stuffing me with all that bread and honey..."

Hiro's mutterings were broken by the sharp click-clack sounds of the heels of a rushing Pistil. With a shameful burn in his cheeks, Hiro couldn't help but suppress the butterflies in his stomach as the memories of her confession remained fresh in his mind.

 _The confession which kept him up all night, tossing and turning in his sheets._

With a flush of red on her cheeks as she wiggled nervously with her hands clasped behind her back, Ichigo shifted her posture as a wave of sweet nervousness flooded her body. Her eyes downcast as she felt a terrible heat burn her cheeks, Ichigo's voice failed her as she placed herself in front of the person who she had poured her heart out to, just last night.

If she wasn't so wrapped up in her shyness, Ichigo would have noticed the blush on Hiro's cheeks as she unwittingly provided an alluring sight to the raven haired boy.

"Um... H-hey there!"

Finally gathering the required courage to meet his lovely green-blue orbs, Ichigo managed to stutter out a greeting. To her joy, it seemed Hiro was having the same difficulty keeping his composure as well.

Turning his head away to cough and cover up his embarrassment, Hiro replied as his heart raced against his chest.

"Ah...Um...Hey to you too!"

An awkward silence soon settled between them as Hiro pointedly tried his best to look at anything other than Ichigo, not helped by the fact that they were in a hallway and she was directly in his path.

 _Everything is so awkward between us now. This really sucks._

Clearing her throat, Ichigo broke the silence with a pretty tinge of pink on her face.

"The operation starts late at night. Um...Did you get enough sleep? You might get drowsy midway otherwise." Ichigo questioned as she tried to cover her shyness with her usual routine of fussing about Hiro.

Scratching his cheek in embarrassment, Hiro confessed the truth even though he knew it would worry her.

"Nah, I was too wide awake. Couldn't get a wink of sleep last night."

"...Me too." Ichigo giggled nervously as she admitted the same.

Pouncing on the opening she had left wide open, Hiro proceeded to tease his usually straight-laced childhood friend.

"Who knew our perfect team leader was the type to stay up all night excited about an upcoming mission. I expected better behavior from you." Hiro teased.

"I-I wasn't thinking about the mission! You idiot."

Her indignant cry made Hiro's body flush with pleasure as he realized how fun bullying his childhood friend could get.

 _Maybe Zero Two was rubbing off him after all._

Leaning in such that his height cast a shadow over her figure, Hiro breached her personal space as his eyes locked gazes with her green orbs. Ichigo let out a tiny squeak as she was dominated by his sudden advances.

 _Yup, she's been a bad influence on me._

"So tell me. What were you thinking that kept you awake, last night?"

At the moment, as Ichigo's face painted itself red to a point where Hiro actually felt worried about her blood pressure, he couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh as he wished that he had a surveillance bot on hand to capture the view of her tomato colored face.

 _So this is how it feels to bully someone you like. It's... not a bad feeling.  
_

Realizing that she'd been had, Ichigo puffed her cheeks out in indignation as she started bashing her fists against his laughing chest.

"I hate you so much! Hey, stop laughing! It's not funny! Ahhhh I want the nice old Hiro back!"

 _This was so much better than the previous awkward atmosphere between them._

"Ouch, okay, okay. Just calm down, you can stop hitting OUCH hey stop-"

Grumbling to himself, he borrowed a trick from Goro's handbook in order to calm down the angry blue mass in front of him.

Headpats.

"There there. I'm sorry okay? I just wanted to see your reaction if I did something like that."

As he applied his ultimate technique that he shamelessly stole from Goro's handbook, Hiro noted a flash of red movement out of the corner of his eyes.

Zero Two was glancing at the both of them with a enigmatic look on her face. That was strange, Zero Two was always a creature of passion and emotions.

For her to be so uncharacteristically stoic and unreadable...

It was a look that caused the blood to freeze in his veins.

After that moment which carried boundless unspoken tension between the both of them, she started to walk away in the opposite direction of them. In that slow, sashaying saunter that served to mock him.

Immediately ripping his hands off Ichigo's head at the sudden rush of guilt surging through him, Hiro looked away in shame as he muttered to the shock of Ichigo.

"Let's just... Let's just make sure this operation succeeds."

Ignored the warning bells that rung in his mind, Hiro rushed past her as he chased after the retreating figure of Zero Two. If he had listened to them, Hiro would have turned around to check on Ichigo once more instead of blindly rushing after Zero Two's uncharacteristic retreat.

He would have noticed the harsh glare that lit up Ichigo's eyes under the brightness of the hallway.

And the hissing sounds she made through her clenched teeth.

* * *

"Delphinium's para-capacity is dropping below required levels. Connection broken!"

Goro crossed his arms, looking away as Ichigo did the same. The tension that they encountered between them at the hallway, if anything, had increased to the point where the oppressive atmosphere could be sliced apart with a knife.

"Ichigo, Goro. What seems to be the matter? Does Delphinium require emergency maintenance?" Nana's concerned voice came through the intercom.

"No. We're just having..." Ichigo trailed off and glared at Goro as he finished her excuse for Nana.

"Internal issues. We need a moment." Goro sighed.

Releasing herself from the Pistil terminal with the usual unlocking sounds, Ichigo turned to face Goro head on with a glare in her eyes.

"What's the matter? Hurry up and get moving. We need to get out there and protect Hiro." Ichigo flatly stated.

Goro eyes narrowed at the attitude shift that had occurred in Ichigo after they had their falling out last night. He had grievances of his own as well! Ichigo had slighted him on numerous occasions and he bore it all without complaint, all for the sake of Papa and Humanity.

"...You're not the only one who wants to protect Hiro, you know." Goro pointed out.

"If you truly believed that, then you would be on my side."

"I am on Hiro's side."

"So am I."

A deadlock between the two childhood friends. Over the one person they both loved in common.

It was truly a tragedy.

The silence that followed was oppressive to the extreme, as both childhood friends struggled to come to terms with their new relationship. For Goro, the attitude shift was particularly painful as he held a torch towards Ichigo. A torch he knew would never be lit and reciprocated as he knew more than anyone how much Hiro meant to her. He knew, better than anyone, that his chances were less than hopeless.

It was with this, that Goro found himself in the painful situation of arguing with his first crush.

"You don't have to make it so obvious all the time that you would prefer piloting with Hiro over me." Goro bitterly complained.

Ichigo arched her eyebrow at that. Was Goro truly so sentimental? Franxx was just a tool of warfare, to be piloted by Parasites for eliminating klaxosaurs. It just so happened that this particular tool of warfare required the connection of two hearts to operate, with it's strength reflecting the power of the bonds between the partners. With that logic, she would perform at her peak if she piloted only with Hiro and no one else.

"Would you prefer if I lied to you instead?" Ichigo pointed out the hypocrisy surrounding his arguments.

"It's not that simple. Did you ever consider how I might feel? Everyone knows of your wish to be Hiro's Pistil once more, even Futoshi who has his head stuck in the bread basket."

"I don't see the need to pretend. In my point of view, that just makes me seem like a fake."

"You have to consider the feelings of others! Not just Hiro!"

"Goro, in this world, life is fleeting. We're Parasites. We go out with the knowledge that every sortie could be our last. That's why I hold what's precious to me close to my chest and never let go, because if I do, I risk losing it in an instant." Ichigo continued,

"Protecting everyone sounds like a noble ideal, but reality doesn't work that way. As for me? My goal is simple. I just want to protect Hiro. I don't care about anything else."

Goro's eyes widened at her impromptu speech. There was a quivering fear in his heart as he realized his beloved childhood friend, his first crush, had just gone to a dark place that he was unable to follow along with her.

And for the first time, Goro had no idea how to pull Ichigo out of her dark place.

"...I didn't think it was this bad. Ichigo, you're broken." Goro spat out.

Ichigo's eerily clear green eyes shone in the darkness of Delphinium. Those clear green eyes that weren't clouded by emotion, passion or rage.

But they scared him all the same.

Because it held a certain spark of madness within them.

"Then I guess, I'm just a broken girl in a broken world."

Goro's heart felt like as if it was stabbed over a dozen times at Ichigo's declaration. With his face in his palms, Goro fought the urge to sob as he realized that in a way, he was going to lose not just one-

But two of his best friends.

"I... I don't agree with you. Ichigo, you've changed. Alot."

"So have you. And while you might not agree with me nor enjoy piloting with me. We can both agree on one thing, if nothing else."

"Which is?"

"We both want what's best for Hiro. The more klaxosaurs we kill out there tonight, the less weight will be on Hiro's shoulders and the safer he'll be." Ichigo continued as she turned her back towards Goro and reinserted herself in the Pistil terminal.

"Then it's settled then. We'll pilot this thing. Not because we want to, but because we both want to protect Hiro. Nothing more between us but a common interest." Goro spat out once more.

"Yeah." Ichigo coldly retorted.

As Delphinium powered up to life, Goro realized that he would never come to like Ichigo ever again.

And Ichigo was fine with that.

* * *

Zero Two was ignoring him, he noted.

This was really bad, she never ignored him.

Even at her peak of frustrations, she would merely wrestle him down to the ground and start biting him so hard that it left marks on his skin.

But as Hiro approached Zero Two as she stood waiting in front of Strelizia's open cockpit, he felt like a prisoner marching towards death row as Zero Two pointedly ignored the sounds of his footsteps ringing off the steel catwalk.

All this while, Zero Two's glare never left the open cockpit of Strelizia Custom.

Gulping to himself, Hiro recognized that he had messed up, big time.

 _Alright, you have one chance, Hiro. One chance. DO NOT screw this up._

Sliding up behind her, Zero Two continued to ignore him, the only sign of her noticing him was the tensing of her body. Breathing deeply, Hiro prepared to calm his raging princess.

Wrapping his arms around her from behind and pulling her into a loving embrace, Hiro nuzzled the crook of her neck and indulged himself in her musky scent as he cooed into her ears.

"Honey~"

The muffled moan and shudder as Zero Two relaxed herself in his embrace had made Hiro inwardly celebrate his success. Seeking to push his current advantage, he hugged Zero Two even tighter then ever, physically pouring all of his love and affection into their shared embrace.

His heart melted as he felt her gently stroking the place where his hands were interlocked on her tummy.

 _Crisis averted!_

Or so he thought.

The sudden feeling of Zero Two's body tensing up once more was the only alert that he received before Hiro felt her break out from their shared embrace and drag him into Strelizia's cockpit. He winced as he felt like a savory piece of meat that Zero Two was dragging back to her den.

As the door to Strelizia's cockpit hissed shut, Hiro heard the locks of the cockpit sealing.

Sealing his fate.

Landing on the Stamen seat with a poof as Zero Two not so gently shoved him in place, Hiro found himself awaiting his execution in the darkness of Strelizia's cockpit. Strelizia was still inactive and the darkness barely gave him enough light to see past a couple of feet in front of him.

Blinking his eyes as he tried to readjust to the lack of light, he heard the clinking sounds of metal hitting the ground.

Shining red eyes and horns lit up in the darkness and approached him.

 _Her eyes can glow red!? That's..._

"I thought we had a really good thing going, darling~" Zero Two cooed in a sweet, honeyed voice as her blazing red eyes forced his gaze to lock on to hers.

Hiro audibly gulped as she continued.

"I was worried all day about this mission being your 3rd ride. I was so worried that I think even my canines grew out a little." Zero Two purred as she set her hands over his.

The gentleness of such an action contradicted the fact that those hands were currently serving as his handcuffs. With Zero Two as his personal jailer and Strelizia being his cell.

Hiro's breathing increased rapidly as his heart hammered against his ribcage, as if it would burst any moment.

"And then I see you having fun with that blue-haired fangirl of yours, petting her head while she swooned off her feet." Zero Two growled huskily as her shining red horns pressed into his forehead as she climbed onto his lap.

"So tell me, darling, was I was worrying too much? Maybe, instead of wondering if you'll survive this mission, I should just go ahead and suck you dry-... Are you seriously hard right now. Like seriously."

 _That's super hot. Glowing red eyes were totally his thing!_

Zero Two facepalmed as she felt the tell-tale sign of her attempt at intimidation completely fail on her pervert of a darling.

She even took off her headband to scare him! That was how pissed off she was when she saw the both of them flirting in the hallway.

As Zero Two looked at the bright, lovestruck eyes on his face along with his shallow panting, she groaned into her palms.

"Figures... I always knew that only a weirdo could get along so well with a red-skinned beast child..."

Even as Zero Two grumbled, she couldn't help but squee at the shiny, watery and lovestruck eyes that shone on darling's face. He might be a weird pervert that lusted over her red horns and eyes, but darling was _her_ weird pervert.

"Eh? Did you say something, Zero Two?"

"Never mind... And stop looking at my horns like that. You're making me self-conscious."

"I really like your horns, Zero Two. They're so pretty!"

Shifting from her position in his lap, Zero Two rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes. I can feel _exactly_ how much you like them."

The shared laughter that filled the air melted any tension between the couple as Hiro nuzzled against her horns once more and stared lovingly into Zero Two's turquoise eyes. As their gazes intermingled, his eyes were glued to the soft pinkness of her lips as they parted. No matter how many times they had kissed, Hiro still found himself drawn towards the soft warm wetness of her lips and the playful tongue that lay behind her beautiful canines.

He wanted to taste them everyday for the rest of his life.

"Don't think you can get away by sweet talking me, I'm still going to punish you."

Grumbling to himself about ruined moments, Hiro surrendered and offered access to his neck in anticipation for Zero Two's usual bites.

"Oh, not that. I have... a better idea for your punishment." Zero Two purred. Her sultry tone causing the hairs on his neck to stand and pinkness to flush against his cheeks.

Before he could ask about what she had in mind, Nana cut in on the intercom and interrupted their alone time.

"Hiro, Zero Two. What's taking so long for Strelizia to sortie?" The demanding tone of Nana caused Hiro to wince as he realized that they might have been spending too much time fooling around in Strelizia. There was an ongoing mission, after all.

As he was about to apologize and wave Nana off, a soft finger pressed against his lips and shushed him.

It was accompanied by the most devious smirk he'd ever seen on Zero Two's face.

 _Oh. I'm so dead._

Reaching over to the console and flipping the communications channel to "OPEN", Zero Two remained seated on his lap as she decided to enact her punishment right there and then.

Besides, she always wanted to try something like this on her darling.

"Nuuugh! Yesssssss! Ride me harder, Darling!" Zero Two cried out.

Hiro's jaw _dropped_ at the utter audacity of the girl on his lap. Hurriedly, he made to shut off the comms until he felt a hard grip on his wrist lock him in place. Zero Two's playful eyes told him that he was going to be punished, whether he liked it or not. Squeaking in embarrassment, Hiro shut his eyes and went to his mental safe space as he awaited for his personal hell to end.

For some reason, the deafening silence on the other end of the intercom made it seem that much more painful as Zero Two continued her unashamed moaning.

"You're so intense, Darling! I can't even feel my hips anymore! If you keep ramming me like that, you'll leave me numb!~ Ahhnn!"

 _Just kill me already. End my suffering. Let me just put my head into the jaws of a Moho-class and close it._

Idyllically, he wondered how many people were listening in to this.

Ah well, his life was over anyway.

"It feels really good! I can feel your love inside me, Darling! Keep going! I'm so close!"

If only the situation wasn't so messed up, Hiro would have enjoyed how Zero Two writhed in his lap as the motions she was mimicking in her acting brought a pleasurable friction to his lower body.

If only.

"YES! YES! That's the spot! Put it all the way in there! Fill me up as much as you want, Darling! Make me yours!", Zero Two moaned out her fake climax as she finished off Hiro's punishment with a wide grin on her face.

"Paint my baby making room white with your seed, Darling!"

"HOLY SHIT CUT THE COMMS, DUMBASS!"

Zorome's shrill screeching came through as Zero Two panted directly into the intercoms to seal the deal. Hiro could only mimic his best impression of a shell shocked veteran as he blankly stared ahead of him, the burning redness on his face doing it's best to heat up the chilly air inside Strelizia's cockpit.

On the bright side, Hiro knew that he would have enough fuel for his fantasies to last for an entire lifetime from what had just occurred.

Not that he even needed to have fantasies, considering Zero Two always made it clear that she was happy and more than willing to put out if he ever so desired.

If he could first find the courage to crawl out of the endless pit that represented the remainder of his self dignity, that is.

"Code 016 and Code 002."

Now even Nana was addressing them by their piloting codes instead of their names. She never did that, ever. Hiro groaned to himself as he felt the coldness from Nana wash over and freeze everything in it's path.

Could his day get any worse?

"Get. Strelizia. Sortied. Right. Now."

"Roger-"

Nana shut off the communication channel without even bothering to wait for their replies. Distantly, Hiro could feel the sheer disgust emanating from her, even though they were separated by hundreds of meters of steel and concrete.

This was a new low, even for him, he groaned.

 _That was how screwed they were._

"Let's Fly! Dar-... What are you doing?"

"...Looking for the self destruct button, I remember it's supposed to be under the panel here..."

Zero Two rolled her eyes as they launched from the linear rails towards the direction of the battlefield.

It would be their first and final sortie in Strelizia Custom.


	14. Chapter 13

Ichigo's eyes narrowed at the horde of klaxosaurs in the distance. Or more particularly at the gigantic cube at the center of the Conrad-class pack. All the time she had spent studying the klaxosaurs at her previous squadron made her come up with a simple rule regarding them.

The larger they were, the more danger they posed.

Switching her communications systems to get a direct line with command, Ichigo offered her expertise.

"Hachi, from the size of that thing, all ground units should be prepared to engage a high-tier class of klaxosaur."

"We can't get any reliable information about that thing since it's still hiding away in it's alt form. But, from your intuition, provide me with your estimation."

"I would say..."

Ichigo grimaced as she found herself being the bearer of bad news. Licking her dry lips, she continued,

"Gutenberg-class. _Minimum_."

Frowning to himself at the new influx of information he was provided with, Hachi proceeded to relay his orders.

"We have updated intel on the klaxosaurs. Aside from the numerous Conrad-classes currently on the field, we've also detected a large, tightly packed unit. We suspect it to be a Gutenberg-class level of klaxosaur and have codenamed it Target Beta. All units should take note and proceed with caution regarding Target Beta."

As the horde of klaxosaurs barreled towards their objective, the Parasites of Squad 13 couldn't help but vocalize their reservations.

"Gutenberg-class!?" Futoshi exclaimed.

"Hey, this has to be a joke right...? That's something even me, The Great Zorome, would struggle with!" Zorome cried out.

"There are so many of the smaller ones, too." Miku noted.

"Attacking the large klaxosaur while being bogged down by the smaller Conrads would be reckless. As such, prioritize wiping out the Conrad-class pack once you engage before reforming your squads to tackle the large unknown. 090 will have field command." Hachi continued.

"Understood." Squad 26's leader responded.

"It's time. All Franxx, commence operation. Strelizia to remain in reserve."

"Roger!" The combined voices of both squads sounded off in unison.

"Let's go, Squad 26." Code 090 called out as they began their advance to contact towards the pack of klaxosaurs.

Spreading out into an flying wedge formation, Squad 26 crashed into the flank of the Conrad-class pack. Their first kills came from the wet smacks of Conrads being crushed by the tightly packed mass of iron as Squad 26 made their initial impact. Herding the nearby Conrads around them as if they were sheep, Squad 26 lifted their spears, proceeding to systematically begin the elimination of the Conrads, one at a time. All the while, the entire squad remained in close proximity with each other, offering mutual support and assistance if required.

While not flashy or stylish by any means, their efficient and pragmatic method of eliminating klaxosaurs was without question as the soil turned into mush from the amount of blue blood seeping into it.

However, focusing on such a systemic method of slaughter came with it's downsides. Squad 26 found that they were unable to prevent a couple of stragglers from breaching their Main Line of Resistance towards the two Plantations.

As a group of four Conrads continued on their path towards the magma pipeline , Code 090 called for backup with a click of his tongue in annoyance.

"Take care of them, Squad 13!" he ordered. "But be careful not to stray too far ahead. If you move around haphazardly, you could affect our coordination, as well."

"If you think we're a hindrance, come out and say it! Damn it..." Zorome complained.

"Everyone, don't let your emotions control you. Let's all focus on the getting those stragglers!" Goro reassured.

"It's the truth, we're understrength and inexperienced. I wouldn't trust us as well, if I were him." Miku grumbled.

"Cut the chatter! Here they come." Ichigo cut off the rest of her squad as she motioned for them to form up behind her as they prepared to engage the incoming Conrads.

"Bombard them, break up their formation!" Ichigo ordered.

The roar of Rook Sparrow announced their compliance to her orders. The shelling by Genista worked magnificently as the Conrads scattered to avoid the heavy caliber shells.

Swooping into close quarters to engage the artillery focused Franxx, a pair of Conrads reared on their hind legs as they prepared to leap onto Genista.

Unknowing that they had played right into Ichigo's hands.

If the klaxosaurs possessed even the slighted modicum of intelligence, they would have noticed that Ichigo had already arrayed the remainder of Squad 13 around Genista to provide security for it.

Diving in with all the grace of an expert ace pilot, Envy Shop magma-tipped points sizzled in the cold night air as Delphinium scored the first kill on Squad 13's tally.

"Hold still, damn it!" Futoshi yelled as Genista found itself grappling a Conrad. Meanwhile, Argentea was desperately trying to pull off the second Conrad that had currently latched onto Genista's back.

"Come on bread boy! We can do this! PUSH!" Zorome encouraged as he put all of Argentea's strength into overpower the Conrads trying to bring down Genista.

A quick flash of blue along with a twin shimmer of glinting orange points answered his cry for help.

Delphinium had took the opportunity to sail over the confused melee and made two quick stabs as she landed with the classic twist of a ballerina. Despite the successful kills, Ichigo complained in her head.

 _That was way too slow! The landing was off by three degrees! Not to mention that if Goro had faster reflexes, she could have gotten the entire pack on her initial charge._

 _Hiro would have done better._

With jealousy bubbling in her heart, Ichigo turned back and looked towards the pipeline where Strelizia Custom awaited in reserve. Memories of the mock battle came rushing back to her as Ichigo found herself craving for Hiro to be her Stamen once more.

 _That could have been me up there._

Bitterly enduring her downgrade, Ichigo returned her focus on the battle at hand.

Back at the Main Line of Resistance, Code 090 whistled at Delphinium's flashy solo elimination of three Conrads.

"Code 015, huh? What's the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group even doing, being attached to a backwater Plantation in the rear like this? Even the Aggressor Flight Leader is here." he mumbled to no one in particular as an incoming call from Nana broke through his musings.

"Second wave approaching."

Code 090 snapped out of his wondering as he took stock of the incoming hostiles bearing down on them.

"Here they come. Don't let them through!" He ordered as Squad 26 loaded fresh cartridges into their magma spears.

* * *

"Take a look, darling."

Hiro lifted his head and peered towards the distant explosions as they continued to cuddle, seated on Strelizia's faceplate.

"Their tactics are all over the place. A huge contrast to the precision of the other squad." Zero Two said.

"Yeah, they're being pushed back. Even with Ichigo out there, they're barely hanging in there." Hiro grimaced, glancing towards Zero Two as she continued her attempt to seduce him with her shining eyes.

"Seems like you didn't educate them well enough, _Teacher~_ " She teased.

Hiro chuckled at that.

"It's a little difficult to teach them how to pilot Franxx when you're swallowed in depression and unable to even boot up a Standard Franxx." Hiro wryly noted. He felt a flick on his head once more as Zero Two huffed at his bad joke. Hiro nuzzled her hair in return and indulged in the scent of her shampoo as Zero Two giggled at the sensation.

They spent the next moments in comfortable silence, enjoying the warmth and closeness of their bodies. The rise of her chest as she rested her head on his shoulders, the softness of her body fat as she coiled her arm around his waist along with a slight tickling sensation on his tummy as Zero Two gently scratched it. Hiro savored it all as he nuzzled against her, enjoying their physical act of mutual affection.

"Hah... Hahh..."

 _...Wait a second. That didn't sound right._

Glancing over towards Zero Two to determine the reason for her shallow breathing, Hiro couldn't help but facepalm as he recognized the unfocused look in her eyes.

She blinked once more and Hiro noted the familiar haze that started to coat her turquoise orbs. This was occurring more often than not, lately, whenever they spent prolonged periods physically close together like this.

"Hey, after the battle today-"

"You want to say 'let me sleep with you'."

"Wanna come to my room and sleep together...huh?"

Zero Two widened her eyes in surprise, a cute motion if he ever saw one, Hiro noted. It was a rare sight to see her so openly caught off guard like this.

 _Aha! Finally got you for once!_

However, he only managed to predict her actions because Zero Two's behavior recently had been too easy to see through.

As she continued to stare at him with watery, lustful eyes. Hiro groaned to himself at that look.

 _Stop staring at me like that,_ _are you that thirsty?_

"You don't wanna?"

At the sound of Zero Two's childish whine, Hiro couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"It's not that I don't want to, but you have to forgive me if I find myself unable to get turned on in the middle of a life or death battle like-"

A surge of pain filled Hiro's body as his crappy joke was cut off by the harsh sounds of coughing. The searing pain in his chest tore him apart as he clutched his chest, holding on for dear life, his heart squeezing itself to the point where Hiro worried it would simply burst on him like an inflated balloon of blood. There was a slick, disgusting crawling feeling on his face as Hiro felt blue pulsing veins creep up his neck.

Unable to control the heaves that his body forced upon him, Hiro could only cover his mouth as the unrestrained coughs poured out from him. No matter how much he gritted his teeth, his body betrayed him as the pulsating cancer festered within him.

In an instant, Zero Two was by his side once more, the warm rubs on his back and the gentle massaging of the blue tumor assisted his body into recovering as the coughs, and the pain eventually settled down enough for him to function normally once more.

Pulling his hand away from his mouth, Hiro noted the globs of bright red blood that stained the glove of his Stamen suit.

The chunky texture of it being a tell-tale sign that it wasn't purely liquid. It seemed some of his lung tissue was in there as well.

Hiro winced at the sight.

He felt a warm pair of hands tilt his head into locking gazes with a pair of worried turquoise orbs.

"Let's go back, darling. Your body can't take much more of this."

Hiro froze at her suggestion. Go back? Return to the sidelines and be grounded once again?

 _Never._

"I can't go back, everyone's counting on me. If I return to those grey, lifeless days, I might as well be dead!"

His anguished declaration filled the silence of the night.

Zero Two frowned at the sound of that. For the longest time, she was bothered by a nagging feeling that her darling was hiding some emotional luggage away from her. An outburst like that only served to deepen her suspicions. It seemed, she wasn't the only one with skeletons to hide in their closet. Her darling had a black cloud that ate away at him at times like this.

While she already had an inkling of her darling's core troubles from simple deduction, she now possessed confirmation of his flawed ideals.

Stretching her body and savoring the feel of the chilly night air on her skin, Zero Two prepared to fix her broken darling. Just as he had saved her in the past, now was her turn to save him from his angst.

Stroking his cheek, she noted with a hint of sadness how he refused to meet her piercing gaze.

"There's been something eating away inside of you for the longest time, hasn't it?" she softly accused.

"I'm not a normal Parasite, as you noticed."

"Mmm, Darling is a celebrity. The legendary ace pilot of the regular Ground Forces. What about it?"

With a raised eyebrow, Zero Two questioned.

"I took on this role with the ideal of preserving the lives of the common Parasite. And yet, I've become nothing more than a propaganda tool for APE, shackled in a backwater Plantation at the rear while the less privileged graduates of Garden are assigned to combat units on the front line. Each time I returned to file my latest reports at Garden, I had to endure the beaming faces of the children who placed their hopes in me. While I settled into the role of a Franxx trainer, the real heroes were the ones on the front lines buying time with their blood." Hiro continued as he confessed, feeling the weight of his wings crushing him flat into the ground.

"Everyone looks up to me, they call me a hero, but the truth is, I've failed to make any appreciable difference in this world."

Ace Pilot. Franxx Trainer. Aggressor Flight Leader. Special Specimen.

Wings on his shoulders along with an S-class ID that allowed him free access to restricted areas of the Plantation.

Even with all the privileges and titles granted to him, had he really made a difference for the common Parasite?

Hiro couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze as the shame flooded his body. Hot tears welled up and rolled down his cheeks as he imagine how pathetic he must have seemed towards her.

Breaking down in front of a girl. Hiro truly felt like he had hit rock bottom as he choked out his sobs, holding his face in his hands as he desperately tried to avoid the shame of Zero Two looking at his sorry state.

The caress of a soft finger wicking away his tears provided a soothing sensation as Hiro felt a gentle, but firm hand forcing him to lock his gaze onto her loving, compassionate orbs.

"That's not true at all. I do admire you for your convictions. After all, darling never quits when he set his mind towards something."

"But that's the problem. Every time I think, "But... Even so," everything blows up in my face. No matter how hard I try, it always..."

Zero Two shook her head as her serious gaze locked on to his face.

"But thanks to that, I'm sitting here talking to you like this. The way you feel isn't wrong. 'Trust in your convictions within, and try with all your might to do what you feel you ought to do.' The darling I remembered lived his life the same way. Never knowing for sure, simply believing it was right. Your current situation isn't a curse. Even if you might not remember, you saved me."

"That image you carry of me sounds so irresponsible. Not seeing it through on his own..." he muttered.

"That might be true. But still. Even so...I was lucky to be able to entrust my dreams to someone like you. Even if you don't achieve anything else for the rest of your life, you can rest easy knowing that the person standing here right before you, owes her life to you."

Zero Two brought their interlaced hands together to rest on her chest as she blazed forth with her declaration. The feeling of her rapid heartbeats told Hiro countless words about the sincerity contained within Zero Two's feelings.

With a determined stare, she spoke.

"I believe, if we hold on tight to our dreams, if we never give up, if we never become closed-minded... I know our chance will come. To find our happy ending, together."

Shuddering from the emotions rolling through his body, Hiro latched on to the beacon of hope that Zero Two offered towards him, reigniting the flame of destiny in his heart. He had made a difference after all. Zero Two was living proof of that.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself after the emotional exchange they had just shared, Hiro nodded as he found his resolve restored by his personal guardian angel.

"Let's go, Zero Two. We'll beat the odds, together."

"Yup."

* * *

The rumbling of the earth signaled it's arrival.

"We're tracking a fast moving target entering the AO!" Nana cried out as ripples of red flashed all over the command center's displays.

The Parasites of Squad 26 shook in their cockpits as the tremors overtook their Standard Franxx. Teeth rattled in their skulls as Squad 26 desperately struggled to maintain their footing in the shifting earth, stabbing their spears into the soil as they held on for dear life.

"Where is it!? The radar is going crazy!" Code 090 cried out as he tried to obtain a visual sighting of the new arrival. He would not need to look much longer.

For the new arrival would soon show itself.

An unlucky Franxx of Squad 26 would be it's first victim. It's separated halves flying off in different directions as orange magma fuel sprayed in the air, showering the area in a drizzle of orange and red that coated the exterior of their Franxxs.

Code 090 gaped in fear at the humongous length that had revealed itself from the bowels of the earth. It's sheer size dwarfing the stunned Franxx beneath it in it's shadow.

"Worm...Class?" he mumbled.

A Worm-Class along with a Gutenberg. They were outmatched in every way. Not to mention, his squad had already lost an entire unit in the blink of an eye.

Victory was impossible, survival even less so.

As it reared skywards, Code 090 could only stare in mute fascination as the Worm-Class revealed a multitude of pods that began to open, as if it were a flower blooming in spring. The sharp spikes that shimmered beautifully served to signal his oncoming demise. His Pistil fared no better as she too was stuck in a trance of fear and shock.

Idyllically, 090 wondered how many days had passed since his graduation from Garden.

The whistling sounds that rung in his ears sung a sweet, dangerous melody as the spikes fired towards him in slow motion. 090 mused on the gruesomeness of his end once the spikes had pierced and shredded him to ribbons. Resigning himself to his fate, 090 shut his eyes and imagined Papa thanking him for his service.

 _Time to die, 090._

However, it seemed the afterlife had decided to trade another life for his.

"Leader!"

 _Ah, Code 812. You always looked up to me as a double digit, didn't you? I'm sorry I disappointed you.  
_

A forceful shove knocked Code 090 out of the line of fire as Code 812's Standard Franxx was torn to pieces by the razor sharp spikes. Sacrificing his life to save his Squad Leader. His Franxx was systematically dismembered as the spikes ripped limbs off it's sockets and holes were carved into it's frame. A set of spikes ramming through the Franxx's faceplate sealed Code 812's fate as the orange and red mixture soaked the ground beneath.

Jerking awake from his trance, Code 090 was determined to make Code 812's sacrifice count. He brought up the vital signs of his squad and immediately assessed the situation.

Squad 26 had suffered forty percent casualties in less than half a minute.

They were combat ineffective, the only remaining course of action was to salvage what was left. With a heavy heart, he relayed his next orders.

"Squad 26, retreat back to the Plantations!"

As he scrambled towards the safety of the secondary defense line. Code 090 tried to ignore the wrenching feeling in his heart as they abandoned their dead to be trampled into the ground by the remaining klaxosaurs.

 _Squad 13, it's up to you now._

* * *

Ichigo chewed on her lip as she watched the broken remnants of Squad 26 flee towards them. The Primary Defense Line had fallen. Squad 13 was the only thing that stood between the klaxosaurs and the magma pipeline.

Exhaling from the stress building up within her, Ichigo glanced at the tactical map as she proceeded to align her units to meet the Worm-class bearing down upon them. Noting that the Worm-class was not supported by any other klaxosaurs, Ichigo offered her thanks to Papa for that small respite they were given. Furrowing her eyebrows, Ichigo started to formulate a plan for tackling the Worm-class.

 _We'll need someone to distract it while the other units carve away at it by sections, beginning from the rear._

 _Genista was too slow and clunky, meanwhile, Argentea's pilots were too inexperienced and volatile._

 _That meant Delphinium had to play the role of bait._

Grimacing at the idea of putting her life in the hands of green Parasites, Ichigo nodded as she finalized her plan. She would merely have to compensate by putting her entire heart into her skills at evasive maneuvers, something that she always held pride in. Her evasion scores were superior to even Hiro's, assuming the engagement range extended beyond 150 meters. Any closer and Hiro's superior reaction times in close quarters dominated her.

Smiling to herself, Ichigo looked forward to the idea of finally getting a chance to show off her hard work. The thought of it pleased her greatly, she realized.

After all, many had the tendency to forget that she was assigned a lower Piloting Code than even Hiro, for good reasons. For she was the technical expert between the two of them. Hiro might have been talented, creative and possess superior reflexes, but, in terms of raw proficiency, Ichigo considered herself his superior.

And it showed. Their complementary skill sets produced the stuff of legends in the Ground Forces.

Preparing herself to relay her orders, Ichigo focused on the upcoming task that loomed before her. That was until she felt a casual tap on Delphinium's shoulders.

The confident smile on Strelizia's face along with it's carefree wave greeted her as it strutted forward to confront the rushing Worm-class head-on, Queen Pike casually gripped in hand.

* * *

"That's a big one! Darling, let's go get it!"

Zero Two licked her lips in anticipation at the juicy target that awaited them, the Worm-class which was currently barreling down upon them. Deep down, Zero Two was a flashy girl and enjoyed the attention she received. Especially if it meant showing off the results of piloting with her beloved darling. After all, what better way was there to impress the rookies than to swoop in at critical moments and take out major threats with ease? Zero Two couldn't stop the grin forming on her face as she prepared to add another kill to her tally.

Meanwhile, Strelizia Custom continued walking towards the Worm-Class, now only 2500 meters away.

Zero Two noted through their shared synchronization-bond that something felt off about her darling. An intensifying buildup of an unknown emotion made itself known beneath his calm surface. Zero Two frowned, all previous elation now rapidly disappearing.

She had a bad feeling about this.

"...Darling?"

No reply came forth. Strelizia Custom continued it's march forwards. Bearing down on a collision course with the Worm-class.

2000 meters remained between them and the Worm-class.

Zero Two glanced behind her to figure out what was going on with her darling. What she saw caused a creeping feeling of unease to churn in her tummy. Not because of his expression.

But because of the lack of said expression.

His face looked had a serene quality to it, with his green-blue orbs eerily calm. A lack of tilt to his lips added to the mystery that was the disconnect between what she felt from their shared bond and his current expressionless face.

For some reason, darling was scaring her.

1500 meters.

"Darling! It's getting closer!" she worried in an attempt to break him out of his trance.

Shifting his gaze away from the main display, his tranquil eyes met hers.

"...Zero Two."

She blinked in confusion at his whisper, so soft it was almost inaudible in the building tension between them. If Zero Two had any uncertainties that something was amiss regarding her darling, she now knew for sure.

A surging force caused her to jerk in place as she felt the controls to Strelizia ripped away from her and transferred towards her darling, reverting Strelizia to the conventional control scheme of a Stamen pilot with the Pistil in support.

"Sorry, Zero Two. Please bear with my selfishness for a little bit."

Zero Two couldn't help but feel a pleasurable shiver roll down her spine at the dominance he displayed, taking the controls for himself without permission. Biting her lip, she found herself not disliking the idea of a dominant darling. With her mind drifting to less savory thoughts, she wondered if she could goad him into similar actions during their private time together.

Grinning to herself, the thought of darling cutting loose and annihilating a klaxosaur sounded amazing idea to her! After all, it was only on rare occasions she could get the privilege of watching her darling display his full range of piloting skills.

Refocusing on the upcoming engagement with the Worm-class, she awaited her darling to take the lead.

1000 meters.

 _...Hey, why are we still casually walking forward? It's getting real close, shouldn't darling be doing something?_

"Let's attack it from above! We'll take to the skies, execute a dive and pierce it's skull!" she suggested.

"Zero Two."

That soft whisper came back once more. Upon hearing that, Zero Two felt the unease within her surge forth to the forefront. She turned behind to try and get a better read on her darling. His face still retained the serenity from before, along with clear, eerily calm eyes.

Zero Two gulped as she awaited him to continue.

"If you don't mind-"

His eyes locked on to hers, a furious fire now blazing forth, coating his once clear eyes.

 **"I'm going to release my pent-up emotions here."**

500 meters.

The rumbling of the earth now penetrated even the cockpit as the vibrations washed over Strelizia Custom.

 _Ah, so that's what it was. The unknown emotion that she felt building up beneath his calm veneer._

Darling was pissed.

* * *

Ichigo's eyes widened at Strelizia's seemingly suicidal intentions. Were they insane?! They were directly in the path of the charging Worm-class! At this rate, they were going to be trampled to death!

She prepared to drive Delphinium forward and rescue the white and red Franxx.

"Goro! We need to save them!"

Delphinium limbs refused to obey her as Goro fought with her over the controls. Jerking, erratic movements came from Delphinium as both it's pilots struggled against each other.

"It's useless! They're way too close to the Worm! If we go now, all four of us will be killed!"

Ichigo snarled at his perceived cowardice. Death? Death meant nothing to her when it came to Hiro. If there was even a one percent chance of success to save Hiro, she would gladly take those odds.

"Hiro is in danger! Stop resisting me! We can still make it if we go now!"

Goro groaned under the weight the pressure that Ichigo exerted on their synchronization-bond. Why was she always so emotional and irrational whenever it came to Hiro? Didn't she see? If they went right now, all four of them would be slammed by the Worm-class, they simply did not have the time to execute a save!

Besides, Hiro must have had a plan in mind, considered the way Strelizia Custom casually walked forwards to confront the Worm-class. They just needed to trust Hiro to see it through.

"Just trust Hiro! Ichigo, you have to put your faith in him!"

Ceasing her struggles as she calculated that the Worm-class had already closed in to the point where it was mathematically impossible for Delphinium to execute a diving save during the wasted time of their struggling, Ichigo turned around as she fixed the harshest glare she could onto the blonde.

"Goro, I just want you to know. Right now, **I absolutely despise you.** "

Ignoring the tears welling up in his eyes, Ichigo returned her focus on the clash before her. Zooming in with Delphinium's optics, Ichigo gasped as she noticed Queen Pike still hanging by Strelizia's side. Hiro wasn't even bringing up his main weapon to attack the Worm-class! Her heart clenched in worry as Strelizia Custom seemed moments away from being run over by the Worm-Class.

That was until she saw the reason for Queen Pike's lack of use.

Strelizia Custom had it's left fist cocked, with the air around it sizzling as the Magma Stakes crackled to life.

* * *

 _"I love you, Hiro!"_

Her heartfelt, earnest confession clung to him and infected his thoughts. But, no matter how much his heart fluttered in happiness, they weren't destined to be together. No matter how much their chemistry sparked between their racing hearts, they weren't meant to be. He had already pledged himself to Zero Two. He belonged to her, as did she to him. It was a simple, straightforward situation.

Or so it seemed.

 _So why didn't I push her away?_

Deep within him, Hiro already knew the reason. He could block it out, cover it up or run from it but the truth remained the same. He understood the reason for not outright rejecting her advances. It wasn't because he wanted to avoid breaking Ichigo's heart. Hiro did not possess such a noble goal like that, for the truth was far baser than that.

It was because Hiro realized he was attracted to Ichigo. He began to see her not as a childhood friend anymore, but as a woman vying for his affections. In a normal scenario, the only thing that he had to worry about was her reciprocation or lack thereof. But he wasn't in a normal scenario, because he had a major problem throwing a wrench into his fate.

The problem being that he loved the both of them.

Zero Two and Ichigo, both compromised essential pieces that completed the jigsaw puzzle which was currently masquerading as his life.

Together, they represented his wings.

 _All of this boy and girl stuff is such a pain._

As Hiro raged at his heart for having the audacity to fall in love with two girls at once, he resolved to take out his frustrations on the approaching Worm-class.

 _Well you stupid klaxosaur, I guess you're out of luck, because I'm having a really shitty day._

Zero Two was looking at him the entire time, he noted.

 _Good. Alright, Doctor, let's test the performance of your new modifications.  
_

Lowering his gaze to lock on to her watery turquoise orbs, Hiro felt his teeth crack from the amount of force he was currently applying to them. The raw intensity of his glare made Zero Two feel like he was boring a hole into her very being. Distantly, she felt the rising heat from their shared synchronization-bond begin to spike.

Shifting in place, Zero Two found herself liking this new side of her darling. The clenching of her core informed her that yes, he was turning her on.

"D-Darling...!" She couldn't help but breathlessly whimper his name. The pulsating walls of her most shameful place betraying her newfound need.

"Zero Two-"

His voice had deepened as the furious blaze of his eyes sparked to life. Rolling waves of pleasure washed over Zero Two's body as she quivered in anticipation. Her baser instincts preparing herself to be taken by her darling. Subconsciously, her hips started to sway in alluring motions, her biological instincts putting forth it's best efforts in seducing her mate.

 **"Give me everything you have."**

At that moment, Zero Two thanked the genius who designed the Pistil suits to be proof against liquids.

"! I-I know, just like this, right!?" her silly lizard brain now reduced to mush, Zero Two found herself squealing out her reply as she immediately closed the distance and embraced his throbbing red core greedily into her.

A plume of dust exploded outwards from Strelizia Custom as their sync rates instantly spiked and capped out at the measurable limits of the pulse tracker. A familiar tint of red colored the exterior of Strelizia Custom, power and might in excess.

"Ignition!"

The Magma Stakes roared to life as Hiro cocked Strelizia Custom's left fist.

Not that Zero Two had the cognitive faculties to notice, considering she was fighting a losing struggle to contain the drool that trailed down her chin as she felt her mind and soul penetrated all over by her darling.

 _Yessssss. Take me. Take me. Take me. Make me yours. Claim me._

 _Own me._

Zero Two lost her mind in the fog of pleasure as a jet of hot, sticky fluid sprayed forth from within her depths to pool at the crotch of her Pistil suit, rivulets of her pleasure running down her thighs. Her traitorous, shameless body merely executing it's natural biological reactions to the overwhelming sensations of ecstasy she was currently experiencing.

Unaware of the effect that he was currently having on his partner, Hiro snarled as he slammed his fist head-on into the rushing Worm-class. Grinding Strelizia Custom's feet into the dirt beneath them, Hiro roared his defiance as large cracks began to appear in the earth around them. Pouring all of his fury, rage and pain into this one single blow.

Every booster on Strelizia Custom exploded outwards in roaring flames as he refused to give ground against the might of the Worm-class. Long, ugly marks began to form in the dirt as Strelizia Custom was forced back by the sheer bulk of the Worm-class.

Red alerts painted Strelizia's cockpit wall to wall as the OS warned of their structural integrity teetering on the brink of collapse.

He ignored them.

"Darling! You have to stop! This machine can't take much more of this!"

He ignored her.

"Darling, stop! At this rate, Strelizia is going to be torn apart!"

He pressed on harder, the painful twisting of steel causing his ears to ring.

"I'm going to break! I'M GOING TO BREAK! I'M BREAKING! YOU'RE BREAKING ME! DARLIIIIING!"

Her screams added to the groans of steel emanating from Strelizia Custom as they both protested at being pushed to their very limits. Static began to flicker on the cockpit's main display, with fizzles and pops providing interruptions to the swarm of red alerts that now coated their entire surroundings.

Hiro's roar drowned out the world around him. The boosters on Strelizia Custom switched from orange to blue, and finally to white. Representing the very last moment before the boosters exploded from the strain it was currently enduring. The Magma Fuel Converter was redlining from it's overload as Hiro put his entire existence behind his fist, ignoring the protests of his stabbing heart, his shrieking Pistil and the flashing red world as he drove forward.

A gargantuan, earth-filling crash announced the grounding of the Worm-class. A giant plume of dust rolling outwards in waves as it laid helpless, it's tail coiled harmlessly as it shivered and moaned in pain. A stream of blue blood endlessly flowed from the crack in it's skull, washing over Strelizia Custom's feet and staining it.

Hiro hunched over as he panted in exhaustion. Stretching out his aching arms, he lovingly ruffled Zero Two's hair as she laid splayed across the Pistil Terminal, her body seemingly having lost all motor functions. A string of drool slowly rolled down her chin as she emptily giggled.

"Ehehe, Dah-ling brooooke me~" The ramblings of a post-pleasured girl filled the air.

Hiro rolled his eyes.

"I'm brooooken. I've been dirtieeeeed."

Huffing to himself at her overdramatic acting, Hiro cracked his knuckles.

"No one's gonna marry me nooooow. I'm used goods~"

Closing his fist into a hammer, Hiro proceeded to conduct percussive maintenance on his whining princess.

"Uweh!? Darling!?"

As his heart secretly melted at how her tongue cutely rolled out as he bopped her head, Hiro deadpanned,

"Are you just about done?"

Making overdramatic exaggerated sniffs, Zero Two childishly complained,

"Darling is so cruel, not respecting the sacred preciousness of a girl's first time. Sob, sob."

Putting his face in his palms, Hiro couldn't help but groan out as Zero Two tried her best to blackmail him with her crappy acting skills.

"But we didn't we even do anything of the sort- GACK!"

His throat constricted and pleaded for air as Zero Two had decided that now was a great time to teasingly strangle him. Her warm, soft fingers maintaining a pleasing grip while simultaneously massaging his neck.

Cooing dangerous honey in the sweetest voice she could muster, Zero Two took her revenge.

"Darling is going to take responsibility, isn't he?"

Frantically, he nodded, the hairs on his neck rising from her sudden contralto.

"I'm gonna let go now, I suggest you consider your next words _very carefully._ " she purred.

Releasing her grip on his throat, Hiro grinned at her mistake.

If he was going to die, he would go out like a legend.

"There's a really sweet scent coming from you, right now."

 _That's the first time I've seen her blush so heavily. Totally worth it._

Hiro petted himself on the back as he surrendered his neck to her furious bites. Allowing himself the indulgence of sharing her giggles as they affectionately cuddle-wrestled on the floor of Strelizia Custom's cockpit.

A wet, stabbing sound interrupted their alone time.

"What are you doing? Don't relax until the core is crushed."

Ichigo spoke as Delphinium retracted Envy Shop from the corpse of the now dead Worm-class, mechanically swiping them off of blue blood.

Growling to herself at the third wheel that had interrupted her darling time, Zero Two proceeded to give that kill-stealer a piece of her mind.

"I don't take orders from you."

"You might not, but Hiro's in there as well, isn't he? Don't pull a stunt like that ever again."

Baring her teeth, Zero Two hammered the nail in the coffin.

"Darling was in full control the entire time. By the way, if you wish to know, _he_ _felt amazing."_

Hiro buried his face in his hands and fled to his mental safe space as the two jealous Pistils continued their verbal spar.

"Hey, cut it out! We still have the Gutenberg to deal with. Let's stay focused!"

 _Team Dad to the rescue once more!_ _Goro, you truly are too good for this world._

With impeccable timing, Hachi's voice came over the communication channels, ending their spat.

"Target Beta has reached the Secondary Defense Line. Strelizia, eliminate Target Beta. All other units are to provide security for Strelizia."

Grumbling to herself, Ichigo found herself replying in unison along with the rest of Squad 13.

"Roger that!"

As Strelizia Custom prepared to make it's way towards the massive bipedaled klaxosaur, Zero Two found a trembling grip on her wrist from Delphinium stopping her. Turning around, Zero Two met with the sorrowful eyes of Delphinium, brimming with unshed tears.

With quivering lips, Ichigo threw her pride to the wind as she pleaded with her romantic rival.

"Please keep Hiro safe, I beg of you."

Zero Two's eyes widened at her honest request. Even though they had clashed more than ever in recent times over darling, Zero Two's heart went out for the blue-haired Pistil.

In the gentlest voice she could muster, Zero Two tried her best to reassure Ichigo.

"You don't have to tell me twice. He's my darling after all."

Her enhanced hearing caught the beginnings of a sniffle.

"...Thank you."

Scratching her cheek awkwardly, Zero Two looked away as she tried her best to "get along" as darling always told her to.

"Yup."

 _Maybe Ichigo wasn't so bad after all._

With a final shared nod between them, they parted ways towards their objectives.

As they sped off into the coldness of the night, little did Ichigo know, their newly found friendship was about to be shattered in a mere couple of moments.


	15. Chapter 14

"A Franxx with this kind of power..."

Nana found herself murmuring to no one in particular at the command center as she watched the amazing spectacle unfold before her very eyes. Strelizia Custom had stood it's ground against a charging Worm-class and stopped it _cold._ A Worm-class, that usually required a bare minimum of two entire squads of Standard Franxx cooperating together to take down. A high-tier klaxosaur that was not even supposed to exist outside of the front lines.

And Strelizia Custom had grounded it with a single fist.

"Sync rate is still capped out at 199! All sensors are reporting errors in their measurements!"

The panicked cry of the operator broke Nana out of her daze as ugly red warnings flashed over Strelizia's form on the displays.

"Confirm it once more! It hasn't budged at all? Not even a single point?"

"No Ma'am!"

The tapping of a cane against the floor reminded Nana of his presence as Doctor Franxx indulged in his habit of broadcasting his musings. Airy and casual was his tone as always, as if nothing in the entire world could faze him. Every head in the command center turned towards him in order to invest their full attention on the eccentric genius.

"Seems like he has it figured out then. Not only that, but he's able to effortlessly enter and maintain Unison Mode. How very beautiful, history is being made right before us." he mused.

"Doctor, Hiro's para-capacity has crossed the critical point and is still rising! We need to call them off now! Any further is too dangerous!" Nana cried out as she pleaded for his approval to withdraw Strelizia Custom from the battlefield.

Her appeal was shutdown however, by the hard steely gaze of Doctor Franxx's remaining good eye.

"We have no other choice but to see it through the end now. Because-"

With a jab of his cane, he brought Hiro's vitals to the forefront on the display. Nana's eyes widened, her body fighting the urge to retch as her brain translated the warning signs and red highlights on his body.

His organs were starting to fail.

 _Hiro was dying._

"This is his only chance left." Werner continued as he pointed out Hiro's Yellow Blood Cell levels.

The Yellow Blood Cells that spiked ever further up in numbers and refused to show any signs of stopping. With dread welling up in her heart, Nana couldn't keep her voice from cracking,

"So, the saurification will begin then..."

Tears began to well up in her eyes as Nana realized the hopeless situation that Hiro found himself in. Occupied as she was by her flood of emotions, she did not notice the tightening of the Doctor's grip on his cane.

"Place your trust in him as I did. That's all we can do now, Nana."

His clipped tone provided no comfort to her as she watched one of her beloved charges run down the clock to his death. Ignoring any possible disdain from her colleagues as she reached out towards the image of Strelizia Custom facing down the Gutenberg-Class, Nana shook her head.

"Hiro...stop! You won't be able to regain your human form!"

Her soft grieving added to the atmosphere of silent tension in the command center.

* * *

A fine mist of blood sprayed across Zero Two's back, it's sickening warmth seeping through the insulation provided by her Pistil suit. His liquid life force dotted and stained the display on her neck.

Zero Two felt his consciousness slip away for the briefest of moments as Strelizia Custom came grounding to a halt. The Gutenberg now fast approaching the now immobilized maiden of steel.

"Dar-"

Before her neck could complete it's turn, she felt a comforting warmth ruffle her hair. Doing his best to reassure her.

"-ling?"

Or but to merely placate her worries.

"Sorry, Zero Two. I dozed off for a bit."

His tone offered no comfort despite the amount of sincerity he had tried to insert in it. Distantly, through their shared bond, she felt his palpitating heartbeats as it struggled to fulfill the demands his body was placing upon it. But the fact that their connection held steady and unbroken the entire time spoke countless words of his determination.

 _Where your body fails, the mind prevails, huh?_

Zero Two found herself being hushed as she futilely tried to protest, his gentle smile freezing the blood in her veins at the disconnect she felt between it and his current injuries.

"This won't end until we kill that thing. My body seems pretty fragile, but I'm tougher than I look. Zero Two, can you help me?" Hiro reassured her.

Or tried to, as the downcast look in her eyes told him the truth.

"It'd be better to just call a retreat and just let the klaxosaurs have the magma energy." she suggested.

"What do you think will happen to our squad if they lose their assigned Plantation? Papa would either dispose of them or send them to die at the front lines. And it's not just our friends, but the entire adult population in the cities is at stake."

" _Your_ friends." she grumbled.

"They'll warm up to you soon enough." he rolled his eyes and winced at her lack of reaction.

Even without a mirror, Hiro could imagine how his face looked, from the pulsing feeling of the poisoned veins to Zero Two's tearing, hopeless eyes. He knew that his body was running out of time. The Gutenberg needed to be taken down, asap.

Before his entire body gave out.

"Let's go, Zero Two. I'm counting on you."

She made a sound of acknowledgement as Strelizia Custom readied Queen Pike, it's frame speeding towards the giant klaxosaur. It's red skin giving Hiro the impression that his blood was fueling their Franxx. A feral grin came over his face at that thought.

His candle had yet to be extinguished.

"What a top heavy design... We'll take out it's legs first!"

Strelizia Custom was a blur of red as it launched itself towards the Gutenberg's left leg, Queen Pike outstretched. Hiro taking note of it's weak spots and angling Strelizia Custom such that they would impact it's knee.

"We can do it... Right, Zero Two!"

Magma energy surged forth and ignited the orange tip of Queen Pike. That action alone by Zero Two spoke more than any simple reply as she focused on turning their bodies into a single piercing blade.

"I'll do it...!"

The additional boosters on Strelizia Custom's calves revealed themselves, increasing it's maximum speed.

"Let's goooo!"

The thrusters on it's belt and calves flared out blue flames as they accelerated. An exploding wash of fumes followed in their wake. At that time, it seemed as if the entire night sky was lit up by their dash.

The poor Gutenberg did not possess even a flicker of a chance.

A massive hole was carved from it's left thigh as Queen Pike disintegrated any klaxosaur tissue it came into contact with. The Gutenberg shuddered as an obvious tilt began to appear due to it's ruined balance.

"That's it!"

Spinning around for another pass to completely sever it's damaged leg, Hiro felt his heart soar. They could do it! The titan was going to be eliminated in record time!

"Ooooryaaaa!"

It's left leg simply vanished.

Repeating his turn around, Hiro targeted it's remaining leg. He would ground that titan before executing it.

"Haaa!"

Another massive hole was carved. Another immense spray of blue blood soaked the ground beneath it.

Final turn. He would dismember the Gutenberg for it's audacity in attacking their Plantations.

"Taaaa!"

The Gutenberg crashed into the ground as it found itself missing the use of it's legs. A pathetic whine erupted from it, such was it loudness that even Squad 13 maintaining the perimeter could hear it's pain.

Soaring up towards the skies like a shooting star, Hiro and Zero Two prepared to execute that final, finishing dive to end it's wretched life.

Strelizia Custom felt lighter than ever. At that very moment, nothing in the world could have stopped them.

His flame of life burnt brighter than ever. All the pain that had plagued him receded from his body.

"I can still fight!"

The thrusters roared for the final time of the night as Strelizia shot downwards towards the now crippled Gutenberg beneath it.

"With this!" Zero Two's voice finally joined in as she poured her entire being behind Queen Pike.

"How does this feel!"

If Zero Two wasn't as preoccupied as she was in executing their finishing blow, she would have noticed her darling's eyes were glowing blue.

Layers of klaxosaur tissue were pierced through as if they were going through air.

When Queen Pike was buried up to it's hilt, Zero Two tapped it's trigger to unleash it's payload. Grinning to herself as they finally attained victory.

"Game over."

Except there was no magnificent explosion. No shower of blue raindrops that signaled the elimination of a high-tier klaxosaur.

Zero Two found her grin being replaced by despair as she desperately mashed Queen Pike's trigger. A futile gesture if there ever was one.

"No way...! We're out of magma energy!?" she cried out.

Red warnings filled the walls of Strelizia Custom's cockpit as Hiro found himself frantically jerking the handles in desperation. The sounds of Strelizia Custom powering down sealed their fate as the displays and lightings followed suit.

In the darkness filled by their sounds of panting, Hiro found himself apologizing to Zero Two as the impact of the Gutenberg's punch sent them flying.

"It's my fault... I didn't watch the fuel levels as we engaged the Worm-class..."

Tears flew freely down his face as Hiro sobbed out his apologies. In his eagerness and haste, he had mismanaged Strelizia Custom fuel reserves.

And it had cost them their lives.

"We came so close, dammit!" Zero Two snarled, her fury at being denied so close to the finish line making itself apparent.

In the midst of her rage, the twisting sounds of abused steel rang out as Strelizia Custom began to twitch in the symptoms of Stampede Mode.

"Zero Two!"

"...!"

His voice brought her back to reality as she realized what she had almost done.

 _She had almost killed him, wringing him dry of his life force like a wet rag.  
_

With the sound of impacting steel meeting soil, Strelizia Custom found itself lying beside the crippled Gutenberg.

The Gutenberg in question which had it's tissues starting to regenerate.

* * *

She was embracing him with all her strength, her face in his neck as she sobbed her heart out. With his hands intertwined around her back, Hiro held on to Zero Two as tightly as he could.

"I'm sor... I'm sorry! It's the Pistil's job to monitor the Franxx's condition. It's my fault that we ran out of Magma Fuel!"

Her wails echoed in the steel coffin they were currently trapped in. Every cry she let out causing a stab of pain to pierce his heart. Zero Two truly believed that she had doomed them both.

It wasn't her fault, not completely. Piloting was considered a partnership for a reason. Both the Stamen and the Pistil were responsible for each other. Equal blame was shouldered by himself and Zero Two for their current mess.

And he wouldn't have had it any other way. Because they went beyond mere partners, what they shared between them was something more precious and important.

They were a couple, and Zero Two was his girlfriend.

Shutting his eyes as he performed a quick breathing exercise to calm his fraying emotions, Hiro did the one thing which he knew that Zero Two possessed a secret indulgence in.

He nuzzled his forehead against her horns, pushing against them so roughly they left marks on his skin. His reward was a rolling shiver from her body, with Zero Two moaning out from the pleasurable sensations she was experiencing.

"Have you calmed down?"

A slight nod and a quick sniffle was his received reply. Feeling a comfortable weight press down on his lower body, Hiro couldn't help but roll his eyes at how Zero Two had stealthily maneuvered herself to sit on his lap.

 _Using my distraction to sneak onto my lap, what a devious girl._

With a firm but gentle application of force, Hiro found his gaze locked towards her glistening turquoise orbs, wet with accumulated tears.

"I'm happy."

"...Eh?"

Now that was an unexpected declaration. He would have thought of a thousand other things he would have said, if he'd found himself in Zero Two's position.

"Because... If this is to be our ending, then I'm glad that I was able to be with you until the very end."

He shook his head at that, they weren't done. Not even close.

"Darling?"

At her inquisitive look, he clarified himself.

"Open the hatch."

Zero Two nodded as she reached over to the switch that controlled the cockpit's hatch. Hissing sounds of depressurizing air answered her as the chilly night air washed over their sweaty bodies.

"Look." he pointed towards the crippled Gutenberg that laid before their eyes. It's exposed core throbbing behind a few flimsy layers of protective membranes.

"It's regenerating."

The slow constant regrowth of it's tissues were proof of that as the Gutenberg laid dormant, soon to recover and continue it's rampage.

"We... We can't do anything. Strelizia is out of fuel and everyone will soon be killed by the Gutenberg. Let's just spend our last moments embracing each other." Zero Two spoke as she surrendered to the impossible odds that faced her.

"Liar." he softly accused.

"Wha-!?"

"There is a way to make this machine move, isn't there?"

 _No no no. He wouldn't dare to suggest...!_

His blazing blue-green orbs sunk her hopes. From all her time she had spent with her darling, Zero Two had come to know, love and sometimes utterly hate the look that was currently in his eyes.

Because darling was about to suggest something completely insane.

"No... You've got it all wrong. If you're going to suggest what I think you are... I'm going to refuse, darling!"

 _He wouldn't...! He wouldn't dare...!_

"Zero Two." His firm voice booked no argument as his intense gaze refused to leave her eyes.

At that very moment, Zero Two knew her world was about to come crashing down. She would have to commit the greatest sin she could ever think of.

 **Darling wanted her to be the witch.**

"Zero Two, I saw the Stampede Mode start to engage earlier. Even after we had lost all available power, it looked as if it reacted to you personally-"

 _He noticed._

 _Darling is sharper than he looks, beneath his cute exterior._

"To your heart, which sensed something as we shared in the mutual feelings of anguish and pain." he spoke as he prodded Zero Two's chest with his finger, indicating what he meant.

"My heart?" her trembling voice betrayed her fear as darling shook his head and continued.

"I don't believe that Strelizia is merely a killing machine that was designed to eradicate klaxosaurs. Something else entirely is incorporated into this bird of paradise. And that thing is probably controlled by a human heart."

"I don't understand! Darling, please stop talking like this! You're scaring me!" she cried out, desperate to stop the waves of fear and unease filling her body.

"That might be the reason this machine was named after an object of love. A guidepost that tests the pilot's hearts, their trust and faith in each other, as it leads them towards their fate."

Hiro chuckled as the entire jigsaw puzzle that compromised the Doctor's enigmatic mind pieced itself together and unraveled the truth before him.

"You were one devious customer when you built this thing, weren't you, Doctor?"

 _I understand it now, why you had this machine and it's princess hidden away from me for so long._

"I don't wanna... I DON'T WANNA!" Zero Two screamed out her refusal, uncaring of how shameless she must have seemed as a fresh stream of tears flooded her face.

He embraced her shivering wreck of a form as she slammed her fists into his chest.

"It's worth a shot... Isn't it? The chances aren't zero."

"You're cruel, you know that? Asking me to do something like this, what about my feelings? How am I going to live with myself if something permanent happens to you?"

"I said it once at the mine, and I'll say it again."

Her frantic shaking of her head as Zero Two buried herself in his chest tore Hiro's heart apart. But it had to be done.

Because one percent chances were preferable to zero percent any day of the week.

"I'm not listening! I'm not listening to you!" she shrieked.

"Use me, Zero Two."

The silence that followed his declaration was painful to the extreme.

Her fists gripped the material of his Stamen suit and clenched so harshly Hiro felt marks on his skin.

"I don't like sacrifices."

"Neither do I. So once more, for this final time, you have to trust me to come back to you."

"I'm afraid a mere promise isn't going to convince me, this time." she pointed out.

Never in her wildest fantasies, could have prepared Zero Two for his next words. It was a dream she had long given up on, a childhood promise tossed into the wind, as if it were ashes scattered to the sea, never to be found ever again.

"Then I'll marry you."

 _..._

 _..._

 _...what?_

"Co-come again?" she squeaked.

He clasped their hands together as he raised them, passionate eyes full of love and sincerity. Zero Two could only stare in muted shock as her frazzled brain struggled to process the current turn of events that had just occurred.

She wasn't prepared for this! Her hair wasn't done up and her horns weren't freshly filed! Her body was still sweaty from piloting! She needed to soap her body all around until her skin was as soft it could get.

 _NOOOOO I'M NOT READY_ _FOR YOU YET-_

Her eyes fell on his lips, as they parted once more in slow motion.

At that very moment, Zero Two felt like her world had frozen in time.

"Zero Two, will you-"

 _yes_ _yes_ _yes_ _yes_ _yes_ _yes_ _yes_ _yes_ _yes_ _yes_

 _wait_ _wait_ _wait_ _wait_ _wait_ _wait_ _wait_ _wait_ _wait_

 _yes_ _wait_ _yes_ _wait_ _yes_ _wait_ _yes_ _wait_ _yes_ _wait_

"Marry me?"

She bawled her heart out.

Even if he had his memories tampered with and their childhood promise turned to ashes.

It seemed history had a funny way of repeating itself.

Zero Two continued to bawl her heart out in his chest as she felt his arms provide the security she craved for so much. Nuzzling, rubbing and cuddling furiously into his chest, Zero Two threw her pride to the wind and relished in her joy, uncaring if her tears were dirtying his Stamen suit.

"Do you believe me now?" he smiled at the sobbing, pink-haired mess in his chest.

Zero Two's body shot up from his embrace, an action so sudden and violent Hiro had to duck out of the way, lest he had the top of her head crash into his chin. Her eyes, now furiously glowing red along with her horns, made a hot flush of want surge through his body at the sight of them.

Jabbing her finger into his chest so roughly he felt a stab of pain, she hissed at him.

"You'll put a ring on me."

It was a statement, not a request.

He nodded.

"Yup."

"You'll make me wear a white dress."

"Yup."

"I want a ceremony."

"We'll invite everyone."

"And we'll go for a honeymoon after this."

"Anywhere you want."

"Children."

Well... that was a little...

"CHILDREN!" she hissed once more.

"Okay okay! Will do!"

 **"Several."**

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _fffffffffffffffffffffffff_________

"...Let's just take it slow and-"

Zero Two growled at his hesitation.

"...! As many as you want! Let's start a football team ahahahaha~"

His mind signing it's unconditional surrender, Hiro found himself giving up his rights to his newfound fiancée. Girls were terrifying!

Sobering up once more, Zero Two inserted herself into the Pistil Terminal. Glancing back as she locked her somber eyes towards his, Zero Two pleaded with the most unguarded voice Hiro had ever heard come from the Partner Killer.

"Don't you dare turn me into a widow tonight."

As Hiro watched the red-skinned and nude form of Zero Two's soul approach him with sorrowful eyes, he tried not to let the fear show on his face as she gently clamped his throat in a quickly tightening grip.

He met her crying eyes once more, the trembling of her fingers displaying her anxiety even through her ethereal form.

Neither of them wanted this.

But it had to be done, or else everything would be lost.

Hiro felt the soft caress of her fingers on his cheek, Zero Two apologizing in her own way for the sin she was about to commit. In return, he too wicked away the tears from her eyes as he smiled at her.

"It's ok. If it's with Zero Two, I'm happy."

Sucking in the deepest, longest breath he could, Hiro nodded his approval for her to go ahead.

His earth-shattering scream of pain echoed throughout the battlefield.

* * *

Ichigo's blood froze at the shrill scream of pain that shattered her entire world. Envy Shop, stained with the blue blood of countless Conrad-classes, clattered uselessly on the ground as Hiro's verbalized agony came crashing through her intercoms.

"Ichigo! We have to keep focused! There's another Conrad coming for us!"

The lone Conrad, long burrowed underground as it hid itself away, stalking Delphinium for the perfect moment to strike, revealed itself as it saw Delphinium lose it's magma weapons. The shrieking Conrad was in midair as it leapt towards Delphinium, it's bestial instincts pleased at such an easy target.

In a normal situation, for a Franxx to be ambushed by klaxosaurs while lacking it's magma weapons would have spelt a quick doom for it's pilots by any rational logic, but the Conrad failed to account for one single overriding factor.

For Ichigo was not your regular Parasite. She wasn't even a double digit elite like Goro or Code 090.

She was an Aggressor.

And she was pissed.

Goro's jaw dropped as Delphinium caught the Conrad mid-leap and literally ripped it apart with it's bare hands. The sheer brutality of such an action not going unnoticed by him.

"Ichi...go?"

Ichigo let out a girlish giggle as jets of klaxosaur blood shot through the air, tainting the blue Franxx as a dangerous smile filled it's faceplate.

It was a sound that would occasionally come back to haunt Goro's dreams for the rest of his life.

"And here I was, thinking I could trust her. How silly of me." she chuckled as Delphinium picked up Envy Shop from where it laid on the ground.

Flashing a thousand watt smile that sent danger signals all over his being, Ichigo casually spoke to Goro, as if they were best friends once more.

"Let's go, Goro."

"What are you planning to do?" He nervously asked the smiling blue-haired beauty in front of him. Her eerily clear green eyes speaking of their clarity and conviction.

 **"I'm going to murder her."**

* * *

"So I was thinking, don't you think a house by the seaside sound nice?"

"I can hardly imagine the maintenance required for something like that, the sodium in the air is going to cause all the metals to rust."

"Darling is such a big spoilsport."

"I didn't say no."

His body was fully resting over hers in the Pistil Terminal, lacking even the strength to support his body in any form of upright posture. Hiro felt his life force drain away into Strelizia as every inch of movement Zero Two made caused pain to shoot through his entire body.

And she knew it. Her false-cheery voice was paired with a tear streaked face as she slowly squeezed the life out of her darling.

As she played the role of the black-hearted witch.

Even so, they both tried their best to converse as casually as possible. Because there was no other way to maintain their sanity in such messed up circumstances.

Zero Two tore away another layer of the protective membrane blocking access to the Gutenberg's core. Her mind blanked out as she heard another spray of blood erupt from his mouth.

That was the only defence her mind could come up with in order to protect her sanity. Every layer removal required a certain amount of pressure to destroy it, no matter how she tried to conserve her energy consumption, darling had blood spewing from his mouth every time Strelizia clamped it's jaws shut.

With her mind automating her horrifying actions to autopilot, the small, sane part of Zero Two's mind continued their conversation.

"Just think about the amount of fishing we could do! And after that, we could start a campfire and grill them!"

"Lemon and salt."

"Hmm?"

"I like grilled fish when it's seasoned with lemon juice and salt."

Another membrane layer, they were getting really close to the core.

Another spray of blood.

His interlocked arms around her tummy lost it's grip and fell slack against her sides.

Zero Two couldn't keep the desperation from tainting her rising voice.

"Not to mention, you'll get to see me in a swimsuit all the time! I'll even let you pick out the ones you like the most and I'll wear them for you!"

A uncomfortable amount of time passed in silence.

"...Darling?" her voice had started to crack.

She turned her neck to check on him, with his head resting on her shoulders, it was but a simple task.

His eyes were glassy and unseeing.

Zero Two couldn't stifle the sob that forced it's way out of her throat.

That was until he blinked once. Then once more. While his eyes remained unfocused and glassy, the signs of life that he had just displayed did wonders in soothing Zero Two's anxiety. Even though a dark part of Zero Two's heart already knew the truth about his current condition.

 _His eyesight had already begun to fail. Even if darling survived, he would just be a cripple.  
_

"Sounds...great..." he chuckled.

They had reached it, the final protective membrane that covered the core itself. Without delay, Zero Two decided that she would destroy both the core and the final layer at the same time. The faster they could get out of Stampede Mode, the quicker darling could be given medical attention.

She snuggled her cheek against his, uncaring at how his blood dirtied her fair skin.

"Last one darling, just hang in there a little longer."

She didn't allow the lack of a reply faze her. She would end it, right here and right now. She would kill this stupid Gutenberg and nurse her darling back to perfect health! Perfect! Nothing less would be tolerated!

Darling would be just fine. She just had to put her faith in him.

Everything on the line for his sake. Just as he did for her.

If Zero Two had applied caution to her actions, she would have noticed that the liquid blue blood of the Gutenberg gave way to an combustible vapor as she got closer to the core. But no caution was to be found as Zero Two forced the core into Strelizia's jaws and pressed them down as hard as she could.

Shattering it and igniting the vapors that comprised of the Gutenberg's final defensive systems in the form of an self destruct function.

As the pieces of the wreckage that used to comprise of Strelizia Custom's frame flew apart to scatter across the battlefield, Zero Two found herself blacking out from the force of the explosion that had just occurred at point blank range.

* * *

Hiro blinked to clear his fuzzy vision.

His world was moving.

Or to be more precise, he was being moved.

The rocking motions of his field of view told him that.

Locks of pink hair fell across his face as her desperate eyes screamed along with her moving lips.

Tilting his head, Hiro found himself puzzled at the eerie silence despite the rapid movement of Zero Two's lips and her heaving chest.

Distantly, he heard the fluttering sounds of birds flapping their wings. It was the first sound that penetrated the silence which had dominated his senses ever since he had regained consciousness.

He glanced away in the search of the Jians. The blurring of his vision offering no help in that aspect.

Giving up, he found his eyes returning to her face, still draped over his.

Feeling pride swell in his chest at his successful return, Hiro smiled at her crying visage.

 _I made it back, Zero Two._

Hiro released the breath he was unconsciously holding, his body shuddering in the process.

As his heart flatlined.

* * *

"Call it. Code 016's official time of death is 0315 hours." Hachi nodded to the operator.

Unrestrained sobs filled the command center as Nana found herself breaking down over the console bank which displayed his vitals, or lack thereof.

Besides her, Nana could hear the sounds of tightening fabric as Werner Franxx increased the force at which he was gripping his cane.

"Don't let Fate crush you. Be brave, Hiro, brave enough to fight off this despair. If you're truly the Special Specimen...you can do it."

* * *

Hiro found himself ankle deep in a foggy lake, the gentle sounds of water splashing against him. The fresh lakeside air filling his lungs and rejuvenating him with a sense of satisfaction. Stretching out his arms, Hiro enjoyed the soothing sensations of his muscles relaxing themselves after the suffering his body had been forced to endure. Even though the sky above him was surreal in it's grayed color, Hiro found himself at peace.

A flock of Jian brushed past his face, forcing him to turn away from the tickling sensation that their feathers caused. They soared through the air across the lake and deeper into the fog, where the shadowy outline of a massive quadrupled form loomed in the distance.

Squinting his eyes towards the behemoth in the distance, Hiro felt a familiar sense of deja vu fill his mind. His eyes widened as he finally discovered the reason for his dissonance.

 _It looks like Strelizia, but it's way too huge and bulky. That thing is massive._

Realizing what the Jian were telling him, Hiro nodded to himself as he proceed to wade deeper into the depths of the lake. The Jian were returning to Strelizia, where they belonged, just like him.

With a sense of peace and finality, Hiro waded forward as he prepared to submerge himself into the lake of his afterlife.

That was until a tugging on his wrist forced him to pause in his tracks, the water now at his knees. As he turned towards the source of his disturbance, Hiro's eyes widened as he came face-to-face with the one person he would have never thought to meet.

A raven-haired child in a fur lined coat with familiar blue-green eyes mirrored himself in his orbs. He wasn't alone as well, he had his hands joined with a small red-skinned beast child clothed in rags.

Hiro made a noise in his throat as he confronted his childhood self. His younger self who was sadly shaking his head in a silent plea for him not to continue on his journey into the depths of the lake.

Hiro found himself confused. If his younger self did not wish for him to submerge himself into the lake and return to Strelizia where he belonged, what was he supposed to do instead? This was the only way forward, after all, he had completed his goal and protected everyone precious to him. Everyone had to die sometime, it was just part of nature. Going out with a maximum effort that culminated into a successful victory didn't seem like a bad way to finish his life.

He glanced at the red-skinned beast child that held hands with his younger self and felt an intense pain pierce his mind.

"...!"

Those horns and pink hair. And those familiar turquoise orbs as they furiously glared at him, accusing him of some unknown crime.

 _"Erase those memories. They're noise."_

Static clouded his vision as they blurred from the crushing pressure exerting itself on his mind. A high-pitched ringing sound pierced his eardrums as they tore his senses apart.

 _ZeR0-_

Her lips parted as she bared her fangs at him, her fury undiminished.

"Da!"

His brain stabbed itself repeatedly as the feedback doubled in intensity and his entire world shattered with the sounds of breaking glass. His eyes only allowing him small shards of vision as colors bled over into the previously grayed out world. Forced to his knees from the pain, Hiro felt a warm, comforting hand rest itself on his head.

His hand.

 _"It's what you get for forgetting you're children."_

"Da!"

 _2w0?_

He looked up at the kind eyes of his younger self.

"She's been waiting for you all this time."

He pointed towards a blooming sakura tree, it's vivid pink standing out in stark contrast with the monochrome world surrounding it.

Where a familiar pink-haired girl in a red Pistil suit awaited, her back turned towards him.

 _Zero Two!_

Hiro forced himself up from his knees, shaking off the hold of his younger self as he ran with all his might towards her, water splashing around him in his wake. As the distance between them came closer to zero, he reached out to her.

Turning her around to face him once and for all.

Ending the wait that she had endured for her entire life.

Watery turquoise orbs met equally wet green-blue ones.

 _Because 'normal' was what seemed right  
_

"The picture book."

Her guard broke upon hearing his confession. Tears streamed down her face as she found her entire hopes and dreams becoming a reality all at once.

 _What could I do to become one? There was no one I could have asked.  
_

He clasped their hands together as she gently shook her head in disbelief, afraid to find her newfound hopes shattered.

"You were the girl with the picture book back then, weren't you?"

"...!"

She closed her eyes as emotions overwhelmed her. An entire lifetime of searching, of waiting and dreaming resolved.

He had found the missing pieces of his memories.

His missing childhood friend.

Embracing her close, he whispered into her ears,

"I hereby vow to never let you go."

"Mm." she nodded.

* * *

"Take as much time as you need, darling. I've waited my entire life for you, this is nothing in comparison."

Zero Two gently stroked his hair as he laid in her lap, in the flashing emergency lights of Strelizia Custom's cockpit.

"That picture book you were reading at the library, 'Sleeping Beauty', it's kind of ironic, now that I think about it. I never thought that I would be the one playing the role of the prince." she chuckled.

Closing in to join their lips together, she spoke.

"I never lost faith in you, and I never will."

Her final appeal.

"So come back to me."

* * *

It was raining.

Strange. The cockpit should have sheltered them from the elements. Unless she had decided to bring them outside?

 _And when was rain this salty?_

Warm, salty drops of liquid splattered on his face as Hiro awoke. Zero Two's sniffling ceased as her jaw dropped at the miracle occurring before her. In another more relaxed situation, Hiro would have pointed out the absurd expression she was currently carrying on her face and poked fun at it.

However, considering the events of the past hours, Hiro found himself awkwardly staring at his gaping fiancée.

He blinked once.

She blinked in response, her mouth still hanging open.

 _I'm surprised she hasn't drooled on me yet, with how long her mouth has been opened._

He blinked once more.

She copied his motion.

 _Alright this is getting silly._

Loudly clearing his throat, Hiro tried his best to break the ice.

"Well, did I miss the kiss?"

"DARLING!"

Her ecstatic cry hurt his ears with it's volume as she embraced him in a bone crushing hug. While Hiro was overjoyed at her reaction, not to mention the softness of her chest squished flat against his body, he had a more pressing issue to attend to.

"Need...Air..."

He started to desperately strike her toned back in an attempt to signal his oncoming death via asphyxiation.

Zero Two hurriedly released her grip on her darling as he coughed for oxygen.

"So... did I miss the kiss?" he asked, staring up towards her face as he continued enjoying the comforting warmth of Zero Two's lap pillow.

"Maaaaaybe~" she teased.

"Alright, I think I'm going to die once more. Here, feel free to kiss me again anytime you feel like it."

Closing his eyes, Hiro allowed his body to fall limp as he tried to blackmail Zero Two with his crappy acting skills.

Her tinkling laughter joined with his as Zero Two embraced him once more.

* * *

"Well, well. The both of you are certainly hitting it off."

Nine Alpha smirked to himself as he viewed the wreckage of what had used to comprise of Strelizia Custom. It's remaining parts being it's head attached to it's upper torso which only retained a single arm. Everything else was vaporized by the self destruction of the Gutenberg-class.

"A shame you had to go and wreck your fancy new upgrade, Nine Iota."

* * *

"After being declared clinically dead for seven minutes and forty seconds, Code 016's body repaired itself to perfect health with it's excess YBC, restoring his vitals. We now possess concrete evidence that the cursed Pistil will no longer offer any more issues for him in future sorties. Unfortunately, Strelizia Custom was totaled in it's previous battle."

"It matters not. APE is pleased to note of Code 016's development. The current status of Strelizia doesn't matter as we will now give you the green light to execute the Filament Plan."

Werner blinked at Papa's sudden change of heart. He could scarcely believe his ears.

Truly? Had the time finally come for his scheming and plotting to bear fruit?

"Werner."

Straightening his back at Papa's tone, he glanced at the recorder that laid beside him during official meetings with APE. Ensuring that there was an archived backup of their conversation able to be accessed from digital storage. He could afford no risks with a project of this magnitude and importance.

"The entire resources of the APE Council of Humanity lie at your disposal. Your blank check has been approved. Do not disappoint us. Depending on the results, we might finally be able to open a path to Gran Crevasse."

The display's image terminated itself as Papa cut the connection without warning in his usual manner.

Werner Franxx nodded as he took in the scale of responsibility that now lay on his shoulders. The entire resources of the human race was now available to him in his capacity as APE's top scientist. The weight of that responsibility was... staggering.

Seating himself at his computer terminal, Werner Franxx drew up shipping manifests from seven other regions as he redirected them to Plantation 13. He also dipped into APE's strategic Magma Fuel reserves as he ordered everything he required to make his magnum opus a reality.

Stripping combat engineers and mechanics from front line units to relocate them to Plantation 13, he callously requisitioned every resource he required. Brutally overriding all objections with the new powers invested in him by Papa's approval.

Snapping off the key from it's chain that he had used in place of a necklace, Werner Franxx unlocked the final drawer of his lab's cabinet. Rummaging through it's top secret contents, he reached the bottom where the blueprints he was searching for laid stashed away for years.

"It's beautiful..." he murmured in awe.

In his hands lay the key to humanity's salvation.

A Franxx that would render every other operating unit in the world obsolete upon it's creation, the penultimate upgrade of the Strelizia series.

FRX-02-F2

Or as it was referred to by it's Official Name,

Hi-Filament Strelizia.


	16. Chapter 15

Hiro found himself wincing at the increasing pressure being applied to his arm as he found himself the center of attention between the two groups of Parasites. Which was hardly a surprise for him, considering how the rest of Squad 13 was using him as a human shield to buffer themselves from their newly arrived guests to the Plantation.

It also didn't help one bit that he was flanked on both sides by glaring Pistils which drew even more attention onto him.

 _Damn you Nana, for hanging us out to dry like this. You and your excuses of urgent matters to attend to._

But really, did Zero Two realize that she was cutting off the circulation to his arm from how forceful she was clinging to him?

Judging by her growling as she aimed her furious expression towards the white uniformed guests, probably not.

Not that Ichigo was any better, with a look of disgust marring her pretty features as she looked over the other squad in disdain.

Timidly, as if he was afraid of spooking an enraged beast, he gently prodded his raging princess to notify her of his predicament. He still required the use of his limbs to pilot, after all.

Also, he kind of liked this arm.

"It's starting to hurt, Zero Two!" he complained.

Zero Two blinked as she relaxed her painful grip on his arm, bashfully apologizing to him with a blush on her cheeks.

"Sorry about that, darling. Here, tell me where it hurts and I'll rub the spot for you!" she offered, as Zero Two started massaging the sore muscles in his arm.

Hiro chuckled at her antics as he lovingly ruffled her hair, all the while keeping watch with the corner of his eyes as he saw the blonde Parasite approach them, a mocking smile on his face.

"Well, you two are indeed hitting it off. I'm certainly surprised, this is the first time anyone's survived Zero Two." Nine Alpha started.

He felt Zero Two's body tense up once more at the sound of his sarcastic voice, worry and anxiety making itself apparent through her touch. Squeezing their joined hands together, Hiro did his best to reassure the storm of her emotions.

"Huh... So this is the famous Aggressor flight leader, it's an honor to meet you." he mockingly bowed.

"Nine Alpha..." Hiro murmured.

APE's number one pilot in their entire Parasite pool. The leader of their clandestine Special Forces group,

The Nines.

Considering their current situation with Strelizia Custom buried in the junkyard, Hiro couldn't help but feel a wave of unease roll through his body as he realized the implications of APE deploying their Special Forces group to Plantation 13, although for reasons unknown to him.

But one thing was for sure, The Nines did not appear by coincidence, Hiro was not that naive to believe that they were merely here for a sightseeing trip in the rear echelons.

"I must say, our dear Iota seems to have a taste for celebrities." Nine Alpha spoke as he flashed an innocent smile.

He felt Zero Two's grip tighten once more on his arm.

"Darling's status has nothing to do with this."

The jovial smile never left Nine Alpha's face as he continued speaking in that infuriating, overcasual tone.

"Hmm, who knows for sure? Although, I'm surprised that you managed to snag yourself an instructor from the Mobile Fighter Weapons School. What a catch, Iota!" he winked towards Zero Two, as if they were privy to an in-joke shared between them.

"Well, what can I say? I enjoy joint operations _._ " Zero Two snarled.

As his green eyes flicked towards the other Pistil flanking him, Hiro knew for sure he was fanning the flames of the interservice rivalry that existed between the Special Forces and the regular Ground Forces.

"Although, one wonders what the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group is doing, attached to a backwater Plantation such as this. Perhaps the illustrious Aggressors believe themselves too good for front-line combat?"

His cheeks shifted in a mockery of a smile as Nine Alpha sharpened his words into a barbed dagger, deftly thrusting it into their hearts.

Behind him, the rest of Squad 13 could only stare in muted fright as they watched the elites of APE's military verbally spar with each other. None of them dared to speak up, feeling as if they were being crushed under the weight of giants.

Elbowing Kokoro, Miku whispered in her ears.

"So that's The Nines? Their leader looks kinda hot!" she giggled.

At the sound of that, Zorome found himself protesting at the starry look in his partner's eyes.

"They're so…" Kokoro frowned. "They're hostile. Like we're not on the same side."

Narrowing his eyes, Goro answered her query.

"We're on the same side." he muttered.

"But–" Kokoro found herself interrupted as she tried to speak.

"The Nines operate on a different level to us." said Goro quietly as he continued,

"We fight the same war but their operational context is far removed. They attempt what we cannot even consider. They undertake what regular Parasites cannot. We are brothers in arms, but our paths and concerns seldom overlap. It's simply APE's way of war."

Squad 13's eyes were downcast as they felt the shadow of the giant loom ever larger over their beings. They were merely grunts after all, Doctor Franxx's test team or not. Comparing them to APE's elites was a gesture in futility.

Angered at his audacity, Ichigo decided that she would give in to her urges and answer the challenge that Nine Alpha had so graciously provided for her.

Stepping forward and breaching his personal space, Ichigo noted with a smirk how Nine Alpha seemed to be taken back by her escalation. Working her eyes over his entire body, Ichigo felt her mouth water at the prospects of schooling APE's top pilot in combat.

Oh, how she craved for the chance to _educate_ this arrogant blonde and put him in his place.

"So this is APE's finest? Funny, I expected you to be taller."

Hiro groaned to himself upon noticing the familiar, dangerous smile on Ichigo's face.

 _This girl... She always got hyped up at the thought of fighting enemy Franxxs._

Nine Alpha's smile matched hers as he counterattacked.

"I see the Ground Forces haven't been taught basic etiquette. It's no wonder Iota fits in so well with you guys."

Looking down on them was he? Oh, he would have to die for that.

Ichigo's voice lowered as she locked their gazes together.

"If you find my etiquette or lack thereof to be an issue, might I suggest getting into a Franxx? I'm sure we can come to an agreement in a mock battle. Of course, I shall insist on live munitions." she smiled.

A long whistle broke out from the rest of The Nines as Ichigo made clear her threat.

"Seems like this little kitty is trying to bite off more than she can chew. Hey, kitten! We're not your average Parasites, threats won't work on us." The red-haired one, Nine Gamma hollered at her.

"It's a shame that your personality doesn't match your grace and beauty, I expected someone with such good looks to carry a more attractive attitude." Nine Alpha sneered.

If anything, Ichigo's smile grew ever wider as she leant into Nine Alpha's ears and whispered in her contralto.

"Would you like to know the unofficial motto of the Aggressors? Allow me to inform you then, it's 'Good Guys-Bad Guys'." Ichigo's eyes lit up in delight as she noticed the tensing of Nine-Alpha's body.

"Let me drop you a hint... **Hiro isn't the bad guy.** "

Ichigo smirked at the bead of sweat that appeared on his forehead.

 _Good job Ichigo, what a great way to make us seem like the villains._

Hiro facepalmed at his second-in-command eagerness towards fighting enemy Franxx pilots. With his vision obscured by his hands, Hiro never noticed that while Ichigo was busy threatening the entire Nines squadron in an attempt to start a civil war, a Nines Pistil had snuck close to him, her short green hair waving in the wind.

Luckily for him, Zero Two's hissing sounds alerted him to her presence.

"Hey, your new boy toy is a real cutie pie!" Nine Delta clapped in delight.

Furious at the new challenger, Zero Two growled,

"He's not my boy toy! I'm his partner."

"Partner? More like escort from the way you're clinging onto him." Nine Delta snickered as she continued, turning her attention towards him.

"Say, cutie." she grinned at him.

Hiro couldn't help but blink at his new nickname. Why were all of The Nines so weird?

"If you ever get bored of Iota-"

Nine Delta winked as she drew her face closer to his, with Zero Two's eyes widening in shock at the sudden turn of events.

"You can always come be with me."

She giggled as she planted an affectionate kiss on his cheek.

Hiro froze as he felt the telltale heat of a blush start to stain his cheeks.

 _What._

"Dude. How does he keep getting all these Pistils to fawn over him?"

Zorome jealously complained as Goro rolled his eyes upon hearing him.

Hiro wanted nothing more than to turn around and correct him, but he had other pressing issues at hand.

Namely how he had to find a way to stop Zero Two from outright murdering Nine Delta where she stood, from the apocalyptic expression on her face.

Now, Hiro had no love lost for The Nines but, he was pretty sure that murder was a crime that carried capital punishment. Allowing Zero Two to grind Nine Delta into hamburger would have really bad consequences for them and Squad 13 as a whole.

And that green-haired Pistil knew it as her eyes taunted Zero Two into taking action. However, there was a variable that Nine Delta had forgotten to take into account.

Namely the fact that Zero Two wasn't the only girl seeking Hiro's affections.

The sharp crack of flesh meeting flesh rang out and silenced everyone in it's vicinity.

"Get your hands off Hiro!"

Nine Delta rubbed the red mark on her cheek as she flinched in pain from Ichigo's slap. Turning away to spit out a glob of blood onto the grass from the cut she had received, she bared her teeth as she raised her fist, preparing to strike.

A painful grip on her wrist prevented her from physically assaulting her attacker, carrying strength beyond a mere human.

It was a grip of an enhanced hybrid.

"Do not touch her."

The glowing red of Zero Two's eyes added to the effect of her threat.

The pressure on Nine Delta's wrist increased, allowing her to realize that Zero Two was not bluffing at all. She would crush her bone to powder if she continued to insist.

"That's enough! Delta, return to us!"

As Nine Alpha's voice cut through the air, Zero Two released her hold on Nine Delta as she stumbled back towards her squadron. With sharp eyes and an aura of dissatisfaction rolling off his being, Nine Alpha called out towards Zero Two.

"Iota, come catch up with your old squad later, without all of these extras getting in the way."

Zero Two grimaced at the implied threat beneath his words if she did not cooperate. Ichigo had physically struck a member of The Nines, with a single report to Papa, Nine Alpha could tear this squad apart.

A comforting warmth encased her hands, pleading for her to reject. She turned to meet his concerned gaze and tried to reassure him.

"They just want to talk, darling. I'll be fine, I promise."

"You're absolutely sure you'll be alright?"

Zero Two flicked his forehead as she giggled at his doting nature.

"I'm not going anywhere, you don't have to worry so much!"

With a final nod, he relented as Zero Two agreed with Nine Alpha's demands.

Without any further words, The Nines left a stunned Squad 13 in it's wake.

"What the hell just happened?" Miku wondered out loud.

 _What the hell indeed._

Hiro found himself concurring.

* * *

"Who would have thought that after an entire lifetime of searching, the Special Specimen would have been the one?"

The APE Council watched as a replay of Strelizia Custom's performance was displayed on the monitors of Cosmos.

"Seriously, if we had known of their compatibility earlier, we could have accelerated their meeting." Gorilla spoke, clearly unsatisfied at the pace of current events.

A chuckle from the vice-chairman interrupted his fuming.

"Come now Gorilla, our girl's silly search for a man has finally ended. We should be happy about that."

"But it doesn't change the fact that she still needs to be monitored closely, especially considering the power we're planning to soon place in her hands." Tarsier pointed out.

With a dismissive wave of his hands, Papa took the floor.

"It matters not in the end, after Star Entity is reclaimed, that fool of a Doctor will unknowingly hand us the plans to his magnum opus. Afterwards, we shall reverse engineer and create a weapon that surpasses the Apus. But first things first, Plantation 13 is hereby declared a top-priority surveillance subject. Code 016 is tasked with bringing our girl to the Grand Crevasse safe and sound."

A murmur of agreement passed through the APE council members.

"The time has finally come for the Belladonna Atropa to consolidate our rule."

* * *

Nana furrowed her eyebrows at the notification she received on her tablet.

"A special surveillance subject? Is it because Plantation 13 has been tasked with Zero Two for the time being?" she said, glancing at her colleagues who were riding the escalator alongside her.

"One of APE Special Forces has been attached to a Plantation's garrison squad. There was no precedent, but it was the obvious decision when you take into account her compatibility and performance with Code 016." Hachi explained.

"But even so... How are we even going to work out the chain of command? Strelizia and Zero Two fall under the purview of the APE Council while Hiro reports to Ground Forces HQ. Approving sorties will be a complete pain." Nana groaned out loud.

In a way, Nana was correct regarding the bureaucracy that they now had to cut through due to Hiro's new status as Zero Two's official partner. Previously, the other Stamens that Zero Two were partnered with were merely disposable tools which were discarded after their short, pain-filled lifespans.

In essence, they were write offs.

However, now that Hiro had revealed his ability to survive and excel as Zero Two's partner, they had to tackle the ugly administration that faced them due to APE's separation of command in it's military. The underlying problem was simple but overwhelming in it's pervasiveness.

As Zero Two and Strelizia belonged to The Nines, Plantation 13 did not possess the authority to issue sortie orders for them, nor did they have the ability to petition their superiors for permission in regards to the both of them. In Hiro's case, his chain of command ran from local Plantation command to APE Ground Forces HQ which took responsibility for the Plantations. Not to mention, Hiro himself hailed from the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group, a squadron that carried it's own political weight and pull within the Ground Forces.

Hiro was not a Parasite that the Ground Forces could easily write off as another Stamen to be consumed by Zero Two.

Basically, every single sortie of the duo would have to be considered a joint operation. With the added paperwork of going through two different channels to obtain approval for launch, APE Council and Ground Forces HQ.

Nana groaned out loud once more at the sheer absurdity of APE's refusal to release Zero Two from their personal Praetorian Guard, forcing them into the ridiculousness of their current situation.

"Don't worry so much, my dear Nana. It'll ruin your smooth complexion." the third person of their group finally added his view to their conversation.

Doctor Werner Franxx. APE's top scientist and also a member of their council.

He also happened to be registered as Zero Two's guardian.

"As long as I'm in the vicinity, you can count on me to fast track sortie approvals for the girl and Strelizia. That would just leave Hachi in his position as Plantation 13's Strategic Officer to issue his orders."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Nana allowed herself to relax as she turned the conversation to more pressing matters. In fact, it was the very reason for their current excursion to the Hangars.

"Speaking of which, how is the construction of the Hi-Filament coming along? Our Transport Hubs are absolutely cluttered with the glut of materials and manpower swarming it." she tossed a pitying look at Hachi, as he must have been swamped with work trying to organize the logistical madness.

"The mechanics are working round the clock to push it out of the production line as quickly as possible. We're rotating teams in shifts such that there's constant work being done. Unfortunately, I will not be able to accompany the both of you to the Hangars, I'll have to coordinate the new arrivals coming this afternoon from the Transport Hub."

Giving him an encouraging pat on his shoulders, Nana smiled at him.

"You know what they say, no rest for the wicked."

"Indeed." Hachi nodded.

As the escalator reached its destination, Hachi parted ways with their group as he made his way back to his office.

Standing outside the massive doors that led to the Hangars, Werner Franxx grunted as the terminal recognized his S-Class ID and allowed him access. What lay behind these doors was the realization of one of APE's top secret projects, with security being of such paramount importance that even regular S-Class ID holders could not access the Hangars unless they had an update applied to their IDs after being cleared with his approval.

As the massive doors started its slow, torturous motion with the screeching of protesting steel, Nana found herself in a situation unlike any other.

It was utter chaos in the Hangars. A small sized army of combat engineers, mechanics and even black armored security troopers deployed as manual labor crowded the area in such numbers that made the usually massive Hangars seemed jam packed. Barks of commands rose above the din as the supporting crew hurried to complete their tasks. The air reeked of fumes as hoses containing Magma Fuel were haphazardly scattered across the floor of the Hangar, the stench immediately sticking itself onto her skin and uniform.

With a jerking motion, Nana staggered as her flats almost lost her footing among the slick, greasy surface of the floor. Uncaring or not noticing her plight, a mechanic piloting a miniature Franxx meant for manual labor rushed past her, carrying a crate of unlocked munitions. In his haste, one of the large solid shells dropped to the floor with loud clunking sounds as it rolled towards them.

During all this time, Werner Franxx merely raised his eyebrows at Nana's antics.

As the large shell continued it's path rolling towards them, Nana placed her foot on the rolling munition, stopping it in it's tracks. Her eyes glanced downwards towards the live round that she had managed to secure, it's inscription of white letters providing her with information that interested her greatly.

 _High-Velocity Armor Piercing_

Taking in the noise, chaos and disorganization of the support crew that had arrived from other units in Plantations 13 Hangar, Nana couldn't control the nervous tick forming under her left eye.

Spinning around to confront the Doctor, she complained at the perceived sloppiness of their handiwork.

"Doctor! I must protest at their poor work ethic! Loose fuel lines along with unlocked crates of munitions scattering live ordinance everywhere, this is a breach of every single APE safety regulation in the book!" she screeched.

Stumbling as she was roughly shoved in place by another group of mechanics pushing past her carrying Magma cartridges in their hands, she screamed in their wake.

"HEY ASSHOLES, SLOW DOWN! THOSE ARE LIVE MUNITIONS! YOU'RE GONNA GET US ALL KILLED!"

With a placating wave of his hands, Werner pointed out to her.

"Calm yourself Nana. These people execute their work in a different reality as compared to us who have it easy in the rear. They're front-line support staff, where haste makes the difference between life and death for their Parasites. They simply do not have the luxury to adhere to safety regulations considering their usual working conditions." he reassured her as he continued with his arms outstretched in joy.

"Besides, look at the amount of progress they have made in but a few short days. Isn't it beautiful? You're the best, Strelizia!"

Nana's eyes followed his as she found herself grudgingly agreeing with his comments.

Towards the sparks scattering in the air as the Twin Long Cannons were welded on the back of the maiden of steel, locking in place with it's dual long booster system already installed between them.

 _So this was the Filament Plan._

As she tracked the sleek white and black rifle being loaded into the armory racks beside Hi-Filament Strelizia's cage, along with it's telltale orange glow of Magma Energy softly lighting up it's barrel, Nana allowed herself to share in his awe.

 _Yes, it was beautiful indeed._

* * *

Ichigo narrowed her eyes as the black cat she always made time to play with during her break periods hissed and bolted away. The reason for it's spooked behavior soon making itself apparent.

"Hey, we meet again."

Unlike the encounter they had in the morning, he was alone this time. Not that it mattered, Ichigo thought to herself as she dusted her skirt off, rising from her seat on the steps of the Parasite Lodge as she prepared to make her exit.

Ignoring him to the best of her abilities, Ichigo started moving towards the entrance of the Parasite Lodge, performing a process of elimination in regards to Hiro's whereabouts. However, the smiling blonde in the white uniform seemed determined to make contact with her once more.

"I've never seen any of the children speak in me in such a manner before. You guys are truly interesting."

Ichigo kept her eyes fixed on the entrance doors of the Parasite Lodge as she spoke, refusing to humor him.

"Go mess with someone else." she warned.

Her warning, if anything, seemed to have the opposite effect on Nine Alpha as his curiosity increased at her clipped reply, in stark contrast with her fiery demeanor earlier this morning.

Nine Alpha's eyes lit up as he made the connection regarding the duality of her mysterious behavior and the variable that seemed to have triggered it.

 _She's much more apathetic when it comes to matters that aren't related to Iota's new partner._

 _Interesting._

 _Very interesting._

"How cold. I sincerely offer my deepest apologies for the uncouth behavior of my squadron regarding the events of this morning." he mockingly bowed as he continued with a genial smile on his face,

"We'll be here for a while, so why don't we have a little chat?"

Wrinkling her nose, Ichigo did not bother with a reply as she strode forward to put as much distance from between her and Nine Alpha as possible.

Calling out to her retreating figure, Nine Alpha questioned her.

"I hear you guys are a test team formed by Doctor Franxx."

Ichigo continued walking, doing her best to pointedly ignore the blonde.

"Is that why you're given so much more freedom than the other squads?"

Ichigo continued walking, as she pondered if she should escort Hiro to dinner after her scheduled training in the simulator with Goro later in the afternoon.

"What kind of tests are you running? I'd love to hear the details."

As her hand twisted the handle of the door leading into the Parasite Lodge, Ichigo hoped that beef stew was on the menu tonight, Hiro had a liking for it.

"Of Iota's partners, only Code 016 has managed to ride with her more than thrice. Is that related to your tests?"

Nine Alpha's persistence was rewarded by her harsh glare and the pausing of her body.

"What are you trying to say?" she snarled.

 _Jackpot._

The smirk on Nine Alpha's face grew as his deductions were proven correct regarding Code 015 and her obsession with Code 016.

"You finally looked my way. For that, I'll let you in on a big secret." he winked at her, causing Ichigo's look of disgust to increase in it's intensity.

Closing the distance between them such that he could secure her attention, he gloated.

"What Code 002 is really like."

"...!"

 _Hook, line and sinker._

 _She was too easy to see through._

Enjoying the flicker of anxiety that ran through her eyes, Nine Alpha set his plan into motion.

"She can never coexist with you. She's just wearing a human guise and pretending she can."

"What do you mean?" she asked, with much reluctance.

 _This was oh so easy, child's play._

"Why do you think Iota is called the Partner Killer? It's because she places her partners under a curse that drains their life away. The power is what she uses to operate Franxx."

Her mind recalled his screaming pain, the agony that he had to suffer riding with Zero Two. She might have not trusted Nine Alpha, not one bit, but what he was currently telling her made sense, if it was remotely true.

Chewing on her lip as she suppressed the urge to break out in tears upon remembering his cries of pain, Ichigo continued to listen to the blonde Parasite.

"Just from what I know, she's used and discarded more than a hundred Stamens."

"A hundred...!?"

A hundred human lives? The number was so high, it seemed absurd.

"That's correct. Code 016 is an exceptional case. Maybe he has a special ability that keeps him going. Or the devil's luck, who knows? But if he keeps riding with her, the curse might turn him into the same kind of monster that she is. Either way, I don't envy his situation." he finished.

Ichigo mind reeled at the revelation that Nine Alpha provided to her.

Hiro was... going to be a monster?

Like... her?

An image of the smiling Hiro she always knew filled her mind, except this time, he had twin protrusions on his skull.

Horns.

 _No, don't be naive. He might be manipulating you! The Nines can't be trusted!_

"How do I know what you're saying isn't but a pack of lies?" she accused.

Nine Alpha flashed his most charming, innocent smile towards her. The gleaming white of his perfect teeth complimenting his naturally good looks. If any other Pistil were in her position right now, they would have most likely found themselves smitten with the blonde Parasite.

However, she was not your regular Pistil. For Ichigo only had eyes for one person in this entire world.

Hiro.

"I tell no lies to elegant beauties such as yourself." he bowed once more, sending a wave of disgust running through her body.

"If you doubt my words, feel free to cross examine them with your caretakers at Plantation 13."

Clenching her fists so tightly that she felt her nails mark her skin, Ichigo sped off in the search of confirmation from her superiors at the Command Center. In her haste, she never noticed the smirk that had filled Nine Alpha's face as he watched her retreating figure.

 _Let's see how you'll deal with this then, Iota._

* * *

Ichigo glared at the terminal outside the Command Center as if it had personally wronged her. It's display reading "LOCKED" in bright red letters, as if it was urging her to get lost. She understood what that status meant, it was only chosen by command-tier personnel when they wished to not be disturbed by anyone seeking audience with them.

Which meant Nana and Hachi were in there.

Usually, a Team Leader such as her required an scheduled appointment to meet with the commanders of a Plantation. But, Ichigo carried a trump card that most regular Team Leaders did not possess.

Her S-Class ID, as a privilege at being one of APE's premier Franxx trainers.

Fishing out her S-Class ID, she forcefully overrode the security locks of the Command Center and stormed in as the doors unsealed itself with a hiss.

Nana's irritated tone greeted her as she entered.

"Seriously? Ichigo, that's an abuse of your powers. Protocol indicates you need to schedule a meeting at least two days in advance-"

Her voice was cut off by the thumping sounds of Ichigo's hands slamming the console banks.

"Hachi, I wish to request for full access to Hiro's medical files." she stated.

"Your reason being?" His eyebrows rose at her bluntness.

"As Team Leader, the well being of my squad is part of my responsibilities. Thus, I require an update regarding Hiro's current condition, considering the damage his body has sustained from our previous battle."

At the sound of that, Hachi's eyes flickered towards Nana's, where they shared an uneasy glance which did not go unnoticed by her. Ichigo fumed under her surface at the admission of guilt between the two commanders.

 _I knew it, they are hiding something from me regarding Hiro!_

She locked gazes with Nana, so intensely that even the caretaker shuffled her feet at her accusing glare.

"Nana, tell me the truth. What's going on with Hiro?"

A resigned sigh from the older woman signaled her surrender.

"I guess it's better to tell you rather than having you find out on your own." she shook her head as she looked towards Hachi to explain in detail.

"Detailed testing has shown that Code 002's saurification has accelerated since they became partners. Code 016's numbers are close to the upper limit, too." His emotionless eyes bore holes into hers as he continued. "If this keeps up, he might undergo a genetic transformation."

 _Genetic..._

 _Transformation...?_

Nana apologetic eyes offered her no comfort as she read out Hiro's sentence to her.

"Basically, it means Hiro might no longer be called human."

Her blood turned to ice as the entire floor beneath her feet seemed to swallow her.

A familiar, mocking voice rang out in her mind,

 _"But if he keeps riding with her, the curse might turn him into the same kind of monster that she is."_

That smirking, blonde jerk was right after all. Nine Alpha wasn't telling any lies back at the Parasite Lodge.

Hiro... Hiro was going to lose his humanity if he kept being in contact with Zero Two.

Hiro, who had named her and granted her a purpose beyond merely piloting a Franxx like everyone else.

Hiro, the one person she had dedicated her entire life towards, who she never stopped pursuing.

 _"Name?"_

 _"Yeah, I gave myself one. I'm Hiro!"_

 _"Why am I Ichigo?"_

 _"Because that's how your code is read. 015, for Ichigo."_

 _"That's my name?"_

And she was about to lose him as she knew it. His humanity, and his life was at stake.

This went beyond petty romance or jealousy.

At that very moment, Ichigo resolved her heart to separate him from Zero Two, no matter the cost.

She would never allow them to be together.

Never.

Mistaking Ichigo's hunched over form with her hand clutching her chest for grief, Nana placed her hand onto her shoulders in a show of sympathy and support. Not realizing the harsh glint that lit up her green orbs and tainted it's beauty, hidden away as it was under the shadows provided by the cover of her bangs.

Misreading the situation, Hachi crossed an unknown line as he tactlessly tried to offer words of advice towards the silent Pistil.

"There are times when you must sacrifice the few so the many might live. Surely a Parasite such as yourself understands that."

 _I won't accept that. Greater Good? She would burn everything down to protect Him._

 _Because in this broken and desolate world carried nothing for her except for His light._

Nana's hands were knocked off as Ichigo's body shot up so forcefully she stumbled backwards at her jerking motion.

With green eyes completely clear and rational, but terrifying all the same, Ichigo dramatically outstretched her arms as she stared down Hachi, uttering the words which would damn her forever.

"Strategic Officer of Plantation 13. If you insist on carrying out this act, I will be an enemy of this Plantation from this moment onwards."

The clattering of Nana's tablet hitting the floor was her only reply in the deafening silence that followed. Even the operators at their assigned consoles paused their keystrokes to turn and stare at the insanity that displayed itself before them.

For the first time in her life, Nana found herself completely speechless at Ichigo's treasonous declaration. Even Hachi seemed uncomfortable for a moment before moving to rebuff her threat.

"Spare me your bluffs. You have people who you consider family here, too. Are you sure you want to drag Goro and the rest of Squad 13 into this?" Hachi pointed out as he called her bluff.

"I only want to be a Pistil who doesn't have to bear the shame of losing her partner." she immediately countered.

Upon hearing that, Nana hissed as a sharp stab of pain pierced her mind, her hands gripping the edge of the console banks for support so tightly her knuckles went white.

 _A Pistil... losing her partner...?_

Why did those words resonate with her? As she battled with her headache, gasping for breath while doing so, the both parties that were currently embroiled in their conflict ignored or took no notice of her struggle.

An eternity of silent tension passed between the two as neither of them refused to break the staring contest between them. Every soul in the Command Center kept their silence as they waited out the storm.

Clear green orbs met blank, emotionless brown.

"Hiro is not your partner. Dismissed." he stated, breaking their deadlock.

Ichigo left the Command Center without another word, the sound of her footsteps ringing out as she went.

Stabilizing her breathing, Nana rubbed the corners of her head as she felt the stabbing pain recede from her mind.

Retrieving her tablet from the ground, Nana commented to no one in particular,

"That girl... Shes changed a lot since her childhood."

* * *

"My my, Iota, is that a look you should carry on your face while catching up with your old teammates?"

Zero Two snarled at him as she ducked under the kick that Gamma threw her way. Transitioning into a leg sweep, she managed to knock over the redhead into the grass. Before she could follow up with another attack to finish off the downed Parasite, Zero Two's enhanced senses warned her of another incoming strike from her rear.

Hurriedly rolling away, her senses were proven right as Epsilon's fist came smashing down on the dirt where she was but moments before.

All the while, Nine Alpha stood in the back, deeming it beneath him to physically involve himself in fighting against her. His sneering expression and mocking voice doing his fair share of damage towards her.

"Still haven't given up on playing human, have we? It's getting embarrassing, really."

Using her arms to block a flurry of strikes from the combined assault of the Zeta triplets, she hissed her defiance.

" _You're_ embarrassing."

A punch slipped through her guard and slammed into her sides, knocking her out of breath.

"You think so?" he smiled as he cast his gaze at the heaving Pistil that was resting her back against a tree trunk for support.

"Come now Iota, this fantasy of playing house with that tainted specimen has gone on for far too long. It's time to return to your true family."

He kept speaking in that annoying overcasual tone as he approached her resting spot at the tree trunk. Never putting his hands on her or striking her, deeming his hands above touching someone as lowly as her.

It infuriated her to no end. That was his method of degrading her and it hurt her more than any of the physical blows she had received from her long history with The Nines.

She would have preferred it instead if Nine Alpha got his hands dirty and struck her like the rest of The Nines.

And he knew it. And as such, he never even touched a single hair on her head, instead preferring more 'civilized' methods, that of treating and speaking of her as nothing more than a mere savage beast.

"I already have a family." she spat at him as he put his hands over his knees, bending over her as he looked down upon her.

 _"Will you marry me?"_

She clung on to his words as a source of security as the rest of The Nines crowded around her, their shadows casting darkness over her resting form. Shutting her eyes, Zero Two refused to give them the privilege of watching her cry.

In a way, she would have preferring it if they kept beating her down instead of this form of degradation they had adopted.

It was Nine Alpha's idea, that bastard. He was the one who had realized that their usual physical beatings they administered on her during their fights seemed to have no effect on breaking her spirit. So they moved on to more insidious methods of bullying, of scorn and disdain.

 _Sticks and stones may break my bones they said._

 _What liars._

She felt a grip on her face forcing her to lock eyes against the smirking green-haired Parasite.

"Hey Iota, your new boy toy looks absolutely sumptuous. Mind if I... take him for myself?" Delta licked her lips as she taunted her.

Fury bubbled and overflowed within her. She would endure any form of abuse but darling was off limits.

Absolutely off limits.

"DON'T YOU EVEN THINK OF GETTING CLOSE TO HIM!"

With her horns and eyes glowing red from rage, Zero Two tackled the homewrecker as she brought her fists down on her face, pouring all of her enhanced strength into smashing her skull into a red paste, with her brain matter flowing out of her ears. She would then mount her head on a spike and wave it around as a warning to any other girls that wanted to steal her darling from her.

Or she tried to, as Zero Two found herself outnumbered and overpowered as she was forced to the ground the moment she lunged forward. Her limbs were held in place as Nine Delta stood over her, mirth filling her eyes.

"Heh, that's such a cute reaction. You must really like this boy toy of yours, it seems. All the more reasons for me to steal him from you." she taunted. "But don't worry! If I'm in a good mood, you can have him after I'm done sucking him dry, hehe."

"I won't let you, I'll stop you!" Zero Two screamed.

"Stop me with what, exactly? Unless you can somehow duck tape Strelizia together from the tiny pieces scattered around the garbage dump, you're out of luck and out of a machine to ride." she grinned at her.

Delta was right. She was currently powerless without Strelizia. Without a machine to pilot, they were the masters and she, the slave. She was at their mercy, she had no means to resist them.

She also did not even possess the means to protect her darling if it came down to it.

She was completely useless to him.

Accepting her downcast eyes as her surrender, Nine Delta finished her off with glee.

"Know your place, Iota."

Zero Two endured their scorn in silence.

"This is getting boring. Delta, lets leave." Nine Alpha nodded to the rest of the Nines.

Releasing their hold over her, they brushed their hands off as if they had handled something dirty, leaving her alone in Mistilteinn's forest to wallow in her own depression.

When Zero Two felt that enough time had passed such that there was no danger of them eavesdropping on her, she sobbed out her agony at being such a useless Pistil towards him.

"Dar...ling."

Her tears landed on the grass beneath her as they fell, alone and unnoticed.

* * *

In the Hangars, a mechanic in gray coveralls was directing the mounting process of its shield.

"Little bit more to the left! We're supposed to mount it on the arm's hardpoint! Steady as she goes... Nice work!" he yelled, giving a thumbs up of appreciation at the crane's operator.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked over the white shield currently attached on it's left arm, providing full length coverage on a single side from it's head down towards it's calves. It's sleek and aesthetically pleasing design having it narrow slightly as the shield extended downwards such that it's aerodynamic properties were fully maximized.

Glancing at the design they were instructed to paint on it, he nodded in approval at their fine craftsmanship.

Where Zero Two's personal emblem was emblazoned, the outline of an unicorn's head with a single horn, painted in red.

And below it, a number, also inscribed in red.

02.

* * *

"I wonder wheres Zero Two gone..."

Hiro found himself muttering under his breath as he sat on the windowsill of the Parasite Lodge's empty common room, peering out into Mistilteinn for any sign of her.

That was until a tap on his shoulders along with a voice he knew oh so well broke him out of his reverie.

"Guess who~?"

Hiro rolled his eyes at her singsong tone. Really, did she think they were still kids? Playing such a childish trick on him...

However, before he could turn his head around to greet his childhood friend, he found himself cut off as a warm wetness crashed against his lips.

"Ichi-!?"

A familiar, floral scent washed over him as she pressed forward, bold and affectionate. The scent dulling his senses as it covered his mind in white, fluffy clouds. Hiro couldn't help himself but note that her kissing technique was improving, as compared to their previous experience in Mistilteinn's forests. Her body too, had differed in their response. While as before it was tense and nervous, now Ichigo was fully relaxed and at ease as her lips applied it's pleasurable caresses to his. Her affection fully on display for him, proud and unabashed.

His enjoyment was broken however, but a dark whisper from his mind that turned every drop of blood in his veins into ice, reminding him of his newly established commitments to another person.

 _Zero Two._

Firmly placing his hands onto her shoulders, Hiro broke their kiss, trying his best not to allow his gaze to linger too long onto the bridge of saliva that had formed between their lips.

Temping him with it's sinful appearance.

The glistening of her eyes along with the hurt look on her face filling him with extra guilt on top of what had already existed as a result of their physical act of affection.

"Why are you here? Weren't you supposed to have training exercise in the simulators with Goro?"

The soft warmth of her hand caressed his face as she pouted at him.

"I just wanted to see you." she confessed as her fingers stroked his cheeks.

Her knees came up to his as she started to climb onto his lap from his seat on the windowsill, Hiro finding himself looking away awkwardly as she did so.

"H-hey, you're coming too close, Ichigo!" he protested.

Pausing in her motions, her green orbs locked onto his as she questioned him in an accusing tone.

"Whats so special about her? What does she do for you that I can't?" she asked, as her unsatisfied eyes bore into his, demanding answers.

Hiro gulped as he found himself retreating under her painful glare.

"It's not something I can explain so easily in words." he responded, as he tried to stall for time.

The tickling sensation began once more as Ichigo restarted the caressing on his face as she continued staring into his eyes, her face but mere inches from his.

"Whatever Zero Two does for you, I can do all that and more." she simply stated to him.

A sound came out from Hiro as his breath hitched in his throat at her offer. Did Ichigo even realize what she was offering to him? With a guilty sideways look, he understood that she probably did.

All the while, Ichigo eyes never left him as she awaited his reply to her outrageous offer.

The creaking sounds of wood provided him with an respite from his current predicament as the door of the common room opened to reveal the chattering voices of Ikuno and Kokoro. Their voices falling away as they took in the sight before them, with Ichigo's eyes blankly staring at them as she remained in close proximity to him.

After an uncomfortable period of silence, Ichigo allowed her hands to fall to her sides as she peeled herself off him, brushing past both girls as she made to leave the common room.

Brightly smiling in an attempt to ease the tension that lingered in the air after Ichigo's exit, Kokoro turned towards Ikuno,

"They sure are getting along better day by day!" she nodded.

From the frown that appeared on her face, it seemed that Ikuno did not share her sentiments.

"I feel like this might be going beyond the limits of 'getting along', though." she muttered darkly to herself.

Hiro inwardly cringed at the piercing look that Ikuno was sending his way, knowing that he was in for an unpleasant encounter with the bespectacled Pistil.

"Kokoro, I wish to speak with Hiro alone. Would you mind?"

With a quick clap of her hands in acknowledgement, the entrance door of the common room clicked shut.

Bracing himself for whatever hardballs Ikuno planned to send his way, he hopped off the windowsill as he turned to face her piercing eyes.

"Can I have a moment?" she asked.

A demand veiled as a request.

"What is it?" Hiro spoke as he shuffled his feet in nervousness.

"Well, um..." Ikuno stumbled over her words as she attempted to find a way to vocalize her thoughts without coming off as excessively rude. Giving up, she decided to tackle the issue headon,

"I think you might be getting too friendly with Ichigo." Ikuno stated as she called him out for his behavior regarding Ichigo.

Hiro winced at her bluntness as he made an sound of uncomfortable non-committal acknowledgement.

"I-I guess so." he waffled.

At her unsatisfied expression at his non-committal answer, Hiro continued as he tried to find a suitable explanation for Ikuno.

"Uh, we're childhood friends and we'd spent a lot of time around each other. And um, knowing Ichigo, she gets pretty down if I ignore her for too long."

 _ _Ichigo, who cheesed so hard her eyes shone as she flashed him the symbol of victory with her fingers when he had named her.__

Ikuno made a sound of confusion at his explanation.

"That's why I feel like I have to at least give her some attention." he finished.

 _Ichigo, hugging him as she cried in his chest when they had received the news that the Special Tactical Fighter Training Group was to be broken up and reassigned._

"I... see..." Ikuno glanced away, clearly disagreeing with his reasoning.

Gathering her courage, she faced Hiro once more as she openly shared her thoughts with him.

"But you should hold back in public, at least. I don't fully understand the situation, but even I can tell that Zero Two holds you dear to her heart."

 _Ichigo, her hands joined with his as they watched the approach towards Plantation 13 on their transport plane, their suitcases by their legs._

The silence between them was painful as Hiro found himself unable to meet her eyes, indecision painted on his face.

Feeling like she had reached the limits of her progress with him, Ikuno left the common room.

* * *

"Seems like shes still giving me the cold shoulder treatment." Goro grumbled to himself as he changed back into his regular uniform, his training exercise in the simulators with Ichigo now over.

His complaining was interrupted by a vibrating noise coming from Hiro's locker. His communicator was rumbling with an incoming call.

Shaking his head at his best friend's absent-mindedness, he picked up Hiro's communicator as he planned to return it to it's owner.

Leaving the locker room, he spotted a familiar red uniform passing by. Calling out to her, Goro attracted the attention of Hiro's partner.

"Ah, Zero Two!"

As she turned to acknowledge his voice, Goro frowned in concern at the stains of dirt on her uniform's collar.

"What is it?"

Fishing out Hiro's communicator from his pockets, he handed it over as he tasked Zero Two with its return.

"Here, this belongs to Hiro. Could you return this to him?"

With a quick swipe of her hands, the communicator was removed from his possession. Zero Two made a sound of acknowledgment as she left in her search for her darling.

* * *

Hiro felt heavy, black clouds of guilt pollute his mind as he took refuge in the abandoned rooms of the Parasite Lodge. The scattered belongings of expired Parasites surrounded him as he laid his gaze onto a framed picture of Plantation 13's previous garrison squad.

The still image haunted him as he recalled the casualty list of their previous battle. Four Parasites from Squad 26 died that day, with two of them so butchered that their bodies were closer to paste than a solid object.

He was partly to blame for their deaths. If he was more alert and had intervened quicker with Strelizia Custom, they might have lived to see another day. But what gnawed away at him the most was not his failure of his field performance, but of his failure as an educator, of an Franxx Trainer to prepare them adequately for combat.

After all, he had a hand in designing the training regime of Garden.

Occupied as he was by his grief, Hiro did not notice the new arrival that had entered the abandoned room along with the clicking of the door's lock as it engaged itself.

"Don't blame yourself, Hiro. We did all that we could."

He turned towards his childhood friend as her voice interrupted his grieving.

"How can you say that?! We were supposed to teach them right, give them a fighting chance. And yet, their Franxx got torn to pieces in a blink of an eye!" Hiro found himself shouting at her, his frustration overriding his self control.

Her footsteps thumped against the wooden floor as she approached him, green eyes providing a bright contrast to the darkness of the abandoned room, it's curtains shutting out the evening light.

Hiro found his stomach flutter with butterflies in sick anticipation as she closed the distance between them, that was until he heard a familiar line that absolutely stunned him, his blood turning to ice.

 **"Weaklings die. Big deal."**

Retreating backwards as he felt the earth swallow him whole at her giggle, Hiro found his attempt at increasing the distance between them stopped by the bed behind him. With a playful push from Ichigo, Hiro found his back landing on the softness of the mattress.

With the sounds of rustling fabric, Ichigo climbed over him, the white of her bra showing itself from her unbuttoned top.

"I finally get it now, I can't believe I was so silly not to realize." she chuckled as her clear green orbs shone in the darkness, her face hovering over his on the bed.

Gulping to himself, Hiro found himself executing his own death sentence.

"You like it when girls push you down, don't you?" she smiled at him, its gentleness causing a wave of fear and anticipation to wash over his body.

Gripping his hair, Ichigo embraced him into her chest. The warmth of her slightly sweaty skin combined with her sweet and slightly musky scent did wonders for Hiro as he found himself groaning in pleasure. Giggling at his positive reaction, Ichigo tilted his head as she joined their lips together, pouring every single ounce of her love and affection for him through their connection.

A stirring in his heart caused him pause, the creeping guilt was returning as Hiro put forth all his willpower into shaking off the pleasurable sensations he was currently experiencing. With his hands on Ichigo's chest, not bothering if he touched her breasts in the process, Hiro pushed her off as he broke their kiss.

"We can't... I made a promise to Zero Two..." he groaned out before feeling a finger press hard against his lips, shushing his protests.

"Zero Two isn't here at the moment, isn't she? She doesn't have to know." Ichigo smirked as she dove in to join their lips once more, this time her hands moving to coax his jaw into opening to allow access for her tongue.

Hiro felt himself complying to her insistent motions as he felt the warm wetness of her tongue swipe over his. Loud smacking sounds echoed lewdly in the humid air of the abandoned room as Ichigo moaned out her confession.

"Ever since we were kids, I only had eyes for you and no one else. You've always been my everything. Not even Goro makes my heart beat this way. Hiro, I don't want to be childhood friends anymore-" Ichigo panted as she broke the kissing to lock her watery, lustful gaze into his eyes.

"I want to be your woman."

Hiro's heart leapt in his chest as the sinful, dark part of his heart found itself overjoyed at her unashamed declaration. In a small, dark place that he refused to admit to himself even existed, Hiro found himself enjoying the idea of a girl pledging herself to him in this manner.

His frazzled mind and racing heart disorientated him and made his thoughts sluggish as Ichigo's hands moved downwards, towards the clasp and zipper of his pants.

With the sounds of rustling fabric once more, Hiro felt a soft, warmth grip on his length as Ichigo revealed his most private of places to the open air.

Hiro's face blushed so hotly it felt it would burst from the heat, his voice box producing whimpering sounds as he felt Ichigo's fingers touch and tease his tip. Shame flooded his body as he felt his shaft twitch at her touch.

With her green orbs locked onto his pleading green-blue eyes, Hiro found himself mesmerized as Ichigo parted her lips.

* * *

"Darling! Tsk, not here huh?"

Zero Two puffed her cheeks out as she looked at the empty room before her, it seems that darling wasn't in his room.

Time to check somewhere else, then.

* * *

Hiro groaned out as he felt the pleasure shoot up his spine, his eyes shut. Rolling her tongue around his entire length, Ichigo shuddered at waves of pleasure rippling through her body only to concentrate on her pulsing core.

Placing his hands on the top of her head, Hiro gripped her hair. From her sitting position that had her knees bent as her thighs touched the carpet, Ichigo moaned out at the sensation of having her hair tugged in that manner by him.

Cracking open his eyes at the sound of her moan, Hiro found himself returning Ichigo's doe-eyed stare as the lewd sucking noises continued without pause. It was that sultry look that she presented him as she held him in her mouth that finally made his self control slip as he hunched over, his climax releasing itself into her mouth.

Ichigo made noticeable slurping sounds as she gulped down his orgasm, pushing his length as deep as she could until she could feel it's tip graze against the back of her throat, worried as she was about wasting even a single drop. The taste of it filling her core with heat as her eyelids fluttered, while Hiro's body shivered in pleasure as he mumbled unintelligibly to the blue-haired Pistil before him.

When she was finally sure Hiro was done and that there was no more left, Ichigo rose and faced him, parting her mouth open with her tongue stuck out, as if she was proudly showing off and asking him to verify that she had swallowed all of his fluids without fail.

Hiro could only stare in muted awe at her boldness.

Flicking a finger at his forehead to tease him for his dumbfounded expression, Ichigo giggled to herself as she reached under her skirt, hips wiggling as she did so.

Hiro could only follow the motions of her hands as she slowly slid the white panties down her legs, a wet spot tainting the purity of the single-colored fabric.

* * *

"Got you! Eh... Not here either?"

Zero Two complained out loud as she burst into the library, hoping to surprise her darling. Except he wasn't there as well, she realized, as the startled caretaker dropped a book at her loud entrance.

Stomping off towards her next destination, Zero Two grumbled to herself.

* * *

Wet pink folds greeted him as Ichigo took position and spread her legs in a perverted mockery of a Pistil's piloting position, her body in front of the doorway. Breathing harshly to himself, Hiro noted the creamy white slime that oozed out of her twitching hole, its texture viscous and sticky.

As the fluids glistened and welcomed him onwards, Hiro felt himself grow stiff once more.

"I've been holding back for so long..." she moaned out.

"Me too." he confessed.

"I wonder why. Why do I love you so much?"

"I don't know. But I love you too."

With a cry of happiness at his reciprocation, Ichigo presented herself.

Gulping the saliva that had accumulated in his mouth, Hiro vocalized his final resistance.

"We're doing it here?" he worried.

"We can't?" her whining, childish voice complained.

"I don't mind." his sideways glance revealing his embarrassment.

"I think it's kind of exhilarating." she admitted.

"It sure is." he whispered, concurring with her.

Placing his hands on her hips, Hiro smiled at her.

"Make me your woman."

Her pleading voice, unguarded and filled with want, made his fingers curl and leave marks on her fair skin.

Aligning himself with her entrance, Hiro closed his eyes as he thrusted forward.

Only to find himself slipping on the slick wetness of her fluids. Hot shame flushed through him at his failure to enter her. His body tensing up as he struggled to contain his anxiety and shame.

A giggle broke through his panic as he felt Ichigo wrap her fingers around him, her warm and loving voice doing wonders to ease his fears.

"Its okay. I'll guide you in!" she reassured.

With Ichigo's assistance, Hiro felt himself going deeper into her.

* * *

"This is getting ridiculous! Just where could darling be...?"

Zero Two suppressed the urge to rip the cushions of the common room's sofas to pieces as she shook her head.

Mentally sighing to herself as she ticked another location off her checklist, Zero Two moved to her next target location.

* * *

"Incredible... This is incredible..."

"I feel really good too..."

"Hiro, Hiro... Hiro!"

Ichigo cried out his name without reservation as she felt herself be finally claimed by the one person she loved the most.

 _This was the best day of her entire life._

* * *

Stomping her feet on the poor innocent grass of the courtyard, Zero Two attracted the attention of a bespectacled Pistil reading her book in the peaceful and quiet outdoors.

"Is something the matter?" she asked the raging pink-haired stamen before her.

"I can't find darling anywhere I look!" Zero Two complained.

"Have you tried the abandoned wing of the Parasite Lodge? Hiro sometimes goes there to hide away from the world." she suggested.

"How would you know? You don't seem particularly close to darling." Zero Two's eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Because we both prefer quiet, unpopulated places. Here, come with me. I'll take you there." Ikuno offered as she rose from her chair, leaving her book on the table as she went.

Zero Two skipped after her.

* * *

The two Pistils walked in silence in the hallways of the abandoned wing, their lack of friendship quickly making itself apparent.

As Zero Two found herself frustrated at the silence between the both of them along with what it seemed like yet another failure of a search for her darling, her lips parted as she started to speak.

That was until Ikuno cut her off with a harshly made shushing sound, her brows furrowed.

Zero Two paused and was about to complain until her senses picked up the strange sounds that had started to appear, they were faint but familiar to her ears.

"What could it be?" Ikuno wondered out loud.

Focusing all of her concentration into her enhanced klaxosaur hearing, Zero Two's world broke into shattered glass as the sound became intelligible human speech.

"Hiro...!" a watery, lusty moan.

 _That belonged to a voice that she knew all too well._

Glancing towards the Pistil beside her, it seemed from the wide, quivering eyes on Ikuno's face that she too had recognized the sound for what it was.

 _He wouldn't._

 _He._

 _Wouldn't._

 _Not after what he had promised her._

With desperation filling her entire being, Zero Two bolted like a banshee possessed towards the source of the sound.

"Zero Two... W-wait!" Ikuno cried out as she pursued her.

Reaching the door where the moans were emitting from, Zero Two found it locked. Her eyes and horns lit up in red as she burst down the door.

And despaired.

* * *

Feeling his seed fill her depths, Ichigo cried out her climax as she raised her head in pleasure.

Directly into the red, tearing eyes of Zero Two.

Ichigo's voice caught in her throat as her eyes widened in shock. Behind her, she could faintly register Hiro's hyperventilation hit in full force as his mental faculties utterly broke down at the insanity he found himself in the center of.

The sound of Hiro's communicator hitting the floor rang out in the abandoned room, it's clattering noises serving as their death sentence.

Hiro's fragile mind broke as he met the red eyes which leaked endless tears.

The eyes of his fiancée.

Who he had just committed the sin of infidelity on.

An earth shattering scream released itself from Zero Two, its volume so loud it caused the ears of everyone in the vicinity to ring in pain as she outright fled from the room, putting as much distance as she could from the sickening scene she had just bore witness to. Each of her footsteps leaving marks on the wood of the floor as she tore through the hallways, her speed such that her figure became a blur of red.

Meanwhile, Ikuno struggled with words as her hands covered her mouth, retching at the sight.

"Sorry... for bothering you." she muttered to no one in particular as she closed the now damaged door as best as she could, leaving the both of them alone with each other in the darkness of the abandoned room.

Sweat, formed from stress, dripped off Hiro's face and splattered onto the carpet.

The communicator laid on the ground where Zero Two had dropped it, a crack now forming on it's frame.

As his entire mind broke down and his consciousness fled itself into the depths of his mind, Hiro could distantly feel the touch of Ichigo's hands as she caressed his face.

"Look over here, Hiro." she turned his face to meet hers.

Wide, quivering green-blue orbs met eerily clear green eyes.

Green eyes which contained the spark of madness within them as she started trailing kisses along his face.

"Only look at me from now on." she cooed, licking up the tears which dripped from his eyes.

"When two people share their love for one another, their heads become engulfed in thick, white, pleasant clouds." Ichigo giggled as she continued running kisses along his shivering, sweating face.

"Worries will disappear like an ice cube under the sun." she nuzzled her cheeks against his as she continued.

Cuddling up to him, Ichigo trailed kisses along his face.

"That's why you don't have to worry about anything anymore."

"Because you and me are now inseparable-"

With the very last remnants of his sanity, Hiro met her eerily clear green eyes.

Eyes which spoke of a terrifying mixture of love, adoration, resolution and insanity.

Only to have his wings be shattered into a million pieces as he was crushed under the merciless jackboot of reality.

 **"Darling."**

* * *

 _The gentle touch of her trailing lips filled me with guilt._

 _The feeling that I'd gotten to fly back then quickly slipped through my fingers, and eventually shackled me to the ground once again._

 _It felt like I was being bound up in a thousand invisible threads._

 _I'm sorry._

 _Zero Two._


	17. Chapter 16

Entering the mess hall to collect their breakfasts, Ichigo kept her eyes glued towards the plates of foods laid on the tables as she tried her best to ignore Ikuno's bloodshot eyes staring at her form.

Ikuno made a choking sound as she turned her gaze away, her body tense as she stared at her food.

"Do you know anything? Ikuno's eyes have been red and swollen all morning." Goro asked her as he noted the interaction between the both of them. "I wonder what happened to her."

Ichigo could only turn her face away from Goro's accusing eyes as she mumbled her ignorance. Picking up two plates of food, she hurried out of the mess hall.

"Hey... Don't you think the atmosphere recently has been kind of bad?" Miku pointed out as she continued. "She's even taking food out from the mess halls for Hiro. Not to mention I haven't seen Zero Two around this morning."

As Miku pointed out the elephant in the room, Kokoro tried to lighten the atmosphere with a clap.

"Lets cheer up! We're going to the beach today!"

The grimace never left Goro's face as he chewed on his fried tomatoes.

* * *

"Huh?"

Ichigo's hands paused in her task of buttering the bread roll as she found herself listening to his sudden request.

"Wanna go somewhere?"

Slumped in his chair within Ichigo's personal room at the Parasite Lodge that she possessed as privilege of her status as Team Leader, Hiro repeated his question.

"Lets ditch this Plantation."

Placing the butter knife down onto the table between them, she frowned.

"Why?"

Her head tilted as she asked.

"I dunno..." he mumbled.

Returning back to her seat and adjusting her body as she faced his slumped form, Ichigo flatly stated her disapproval.

"Because they saw us?" she pointed out as his expression tensed at her blunt reply.

His quivering lips portraying the guilt and shame he felt at that moment.

"Its no big deal. There's nothing to worry about." she reassured him.

Placing a slice of fried tomato and ham in the slit she had cut into the bread roll, Ichigo reached out towards him as she tried to feed him his breakfast.

"Here... Say ahhh!"

His blank, downcast face offered no reaction as the sandwich bumped against his closed lips.

* * *

After multiple tries and much persistence, Ichigo had finally managed to force feed him his breakfast, even though he had possessed no appetite. Leaving the cleanup to Ichigo, Hiro shut the door to her room. He really needed some fresh air after being cooped up in her room all day.

Allowing his feet to lead him via autopilot, Hiro lumbered towards the bathroom for his daily cleansing. In his daze, he had not noticed the bespectacled Pistil until she had called out his name.

"Hiro."

Jerking back at the sound of her voice, Hiro found that he couldn't bring himself to meet her red, puffy eyes. With fear and shame filling his face, he desperately looked for an escape as she confronted him.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about it." Ikuno's downcast gaze filling him with guilt as she continued,

"But I don't think that's right. It's wrong as a Parasite. Shes not even your partner anymore." her shaking legs trembled in place as wet tears splashed onto the carpet beneath her.

"I admired you, Hiro." she confessed.

"I thought you were a gentle, reliable and amazing person. A model Parasite for all to look up to." her cracking voice filled the hallway as she spoke.

Hiro could only freeze in place as he allowed Ikuno a rare moment of weakness, pouring out her emotions.

"But I'll never talk to you ever again after this!"

Her piercing voice physically hurt him as she condemned him to hell.

"I had a feeling about it. Whenever I saw the both of you interact. Thought I wished it were a mistake, my eyes told me different."

Emotionally exhausted at the recent ordeals, Hiro could only offer the only thing he had to atone for his sin.

"I'm sorry." he uttered as he struggled to find the strength within him to not break down in tears. Even though it was far too late for that, Hiro continued mumbling out loud about his childhood friend, as he had no clue what else he could say towards Ikuno's piercing gaze.

"Because we were always together for the longest time... I never realized the exact moment my mind started noticing her as a girl instead of my childhood friend."

 _Ichigo, hugging her stuffed rabbit as she grinned at him during their time at Garden._

"She'd become this delicate girl I couldn't recognize..."

 _Ichigo, brushing her bangs aside as strands of her hair got caught into her eyes._

"She made my heart race."

 _Ichigo, leaning over him as he awoke after an all nighter at the libraries._

"A lot of things happened, and every time I saw her as a girl."

 _Ichigo, patting down his bed hair every time she escorted him to breakfast._

"She isn't honest with herself."

 _Ichigo, jumping back in surprise as the captured Conrad-class slammed against it's glass enclosure, clinging onto him as reflex._

"But that's why whenever she relied on me... My heart raced."

 _Ichigo, crying into his chest when they had received their transfer orders to Plantation 13._

"It made me want to protect her."

Making a noise in her throat as she heard Hiro confess his most private feelings, Ikuno's lips parted as she tried to interrupt him from going any further, until his raised voice cut her off.

"But I had pledged myself to Zero Two a long time ago!" he firmly stated, draw a deep breath as he continued, "I just didn't remember it at that time."

"And three weeks ago, I had reunited with a lost love which I forgotten I ever had." he continued staring into Ikuno's eyes as he explained himself.

 _Zero Two, cornering him against a tree trunk as the falling leaves caught on her shoulders._

"Before I knew it, I fell in love with her once again."

 _Zero Two, her arms outstretched as she welcomed him into Strelizia._

"And as time went by, we became drunk on each other's affections."

 _Zero Two, embracing him so tightly he felt her heartbeat against his._

"It was as if I was living out a fairy tale, with her as my princess."

 _Zero Two, in the library pulling his cheeks as she demanded his love confession._

"But I was weak, passive and selfish. I didn't want to hurt anyone by outright rejecting either of them, but in the end, I hurt everyone. Including you, Ikuno." his trembling voice called himself out as he admitted his mistakes.

With a deep bow, he threw his pride to the wind.

"I'm really sorry."

Ikuno's eyes watered at his apology. Shaking her head, her footsteps rang out as she slowly approached the shivering raven-haired stamen, still locked in his bow.

Standing before him, she took in the sight of the tears that dripped from his face as his body shivered in guilt.

Looking away with a sad smile, she gently placed a hand on his head to comfort him.

"You apologized, at the very least. That's a start."

As she slowly walked away from his sobbing form, she spoke.

"It's funny sometimes how the more we try to not hurt others, the more we end up committing far worse actions."

The choking sounds emitting from him told her he had listened to her advice.

As she turned the corner to leave him be, she looked back at him, still locked into his bow of apology.

"Time is the cruelest kindness. But still, in the end it's humans that decide whether time will be cruel or kind."

* * *

"What do you mean, you're not coming?" Goro frowned at her as the squad stood at the entrance of the Parasite Lodge, ready to leave on their beach excursion.

Ichigo sighed at her partner.

"Hiro isn't feeling well, so I'll need to stay back to take care of him."

Narrowing his eyes at her excuse, Goro challenged her.

"What's he sick with?"

"A fever, he needs rest." Ichigo immediately countered.

Did she really think so lowly of his intelligence? He could easily take apart her excuse by pointing out if Hiro was really sick, he would be in the medical bay, not nursed by Ichigo. But if anyone had a say, it would have been his partner, Zero Two.

Looking towards Zero Two, who had a stony expression on her face, he asked.

"Are you really fine with this?"

Her hard eyes never met his as she continued fixing her gaze in the distance.

"I don't really care."

Growling in frustration, Goro turned away to leave as he allowed Ichigo her victory.

* * *

From the upper floor of the Parasite Lodge, Hiro watched the entire thing play out as he peered out it's windows. His dull eyes followed everything from Goro's obvious frustration to Zero Two's emotionless figure.

After the outpouring of emotions he had just endured during his encounter with Ikuno, Hiro truly felt drained of all vigor, lethargy setting itself into his bones.

His lethargy was so serious that he only answered his communicator on it's fifth tone, dully allowing it to ring for four tones before fishing it out from his pockets.

As he flipped his cracked communicator open, his eyes widened in shock at it's message.

* * *

"Gotta love the beach, huh?" Futoshi sighed contently as he stared at Kokoro playing volleyball in her swimsuit.

"Yeah. The girls look cuter than usual today, it's a mystery." his friend, Zorome replied as he leered at his partner, her twintails swishing as she hopped around, hyped as she was to challenge Kokoro to a match of volleyball.

"Hey, you guys!"

The both of them turned to look towards the source of the voice calling out towards them. Goro was waving at them, his hands full with sacks of charcoal.

"Stop fooling around! I need some help getting the barbecue set up!"

Flexing his non-existent biceps, Zorome prodded the plump stamen to follow him as they proceeded to assist Goro with his tasks.

Passing by Mitsuru on their way towards the stockpile of beach supplies, Zorome waved him off.

"Relax, your hand is still injured. Just focus on allowing it to heal. We'll take it from here!"

A sound of indignation being the only reply he received.

As Goro huffed at their lagging pace, his eyes moved towards a pink-haired figure resting under the shade of a palm tree, at an considerable distance away from the rest of the squad.

Frowning to himself, he wondered what was going on between Hiro and his partner.

* * *

"Hiro!"

Her cheerful voice calling out his name as she entered the library, awash with the light of the evening sky that had entered through it's windows, Ichigo called out to him.

"Dinner's ready!" she informed him of the meals that awaited them at her room, her favorite stuffed rabbit at her side.

Puffing her cheeks out at his lack of reply, she tried once more.

"Hiro?"

Ducking her head between bookshelves, she found him resting on a desk, his head on his arms. The only motion coming from his body was the slow paced breathing coming from his form.

"Mm? Hiro?"

At a glance, Ichigo already knew he was but pretending to be asleep. She knew him better than anyone else after all.

She also recognized the emotional stress he was suffering from.

"What's wrong?"

Hugging the stuffed rabbit close to her chest, Ichigo allowed a gentle smile to cross her face as she leaned closer into him and stroked his back in an attempt to comfort him.

"Nothing's really changed, right? It's all right." she spoke as she continued her stroking across his back, pouring reassurance into her voice.

The wood of the chair creaked in protest as Hiro immediate shot up, his posture stiff as a springboard. Ichigo found herself frowning at his blank, empty expression.

"Hiro?"

At the sound of her voice, his eyes softened with sadness, a slight quiver making itself apparent on his lips.

Ichigo found her expression softening along with his as she smiled at him. Leaning into his personal space, Ichigo did her best to comfort him.

"Let's kiss." she cooed at him, placing a hand on his shoulders as she parted her lips.

However, the sharp turning of his face in the opposite direction of hers shocked her as Hiro wordlessly rejected her advances. Biting her lips in frustration, Ichigo tried once more, this time with force behind her motions.

A hard shove sent her stumbling back to land into the sofas of the library, Hiro's panting echoing through out the silence around them. Her stuffed rabbit landing off to the side onto the ground as she was pushed back.

Recognizing the position that she had fallen into when Hiro had shoved her into the sofas, Ichigo giggled as an idea popped into her mind. Shifting her hands under her skirt she cooed at him.

"It's all right. I don't mind if you want to mess me up. If you want to, Hiro... You can."

As her fingers found the waistband of her undergarments, she froze at Hiro's wide, quivering eyes that welled with tears as he frantically flung himself at the opposite end of the library, practically fleeing from her.

He had his hands on a window, with his fingers sending out sounds of squealing as they slid down the glass. Loud, unrestrained sobbing filled the air.

"Hiro?" Ichigo called out, her voice filled with worry.

In between his sobs, his voice cried out.

"That's not it. That's not it!"

Rising up from the sofa, Ichigo fixed her gaze on him as he looked out the window. His expression hidden from her considering he had his back facing her.

In the dead silence of the library, Hiro's voice rang out loud and clear as he betrayed her feelings.

"Let's stop this."

"Eh?"

A disbelieving sound came from her throat.

"Kissing..."

"...!"

Ichigo's eyes widened at his pleading voice.

"...and everything else."

Hissing sounds came through her clenched teeth as Ichigo bared them in the shadowed library.

The sounds of furious footsteps rang out as she hurriedly approached him. Placing a hand on his shoulders, she raised her voice,

"Why?"

Hiro shook her hand off as he turned over, pressing his back against the full length window.

"Why!? Because..."

He took a deep, shuddering breath as he continued,

"...we're just childhood friends."

Snarling at his declaration, Ichigo moved to stand over him as she furiously rejected his statements.

"Hiding behind that again!? Why can't childhood friends kiss?"

Her angry green eyes glared down at him as Hiro cast his gaze away, shame and guilt flooding his face.

"Why can't they have sex!?"

His teeth chattering at her raising voice and furious tone, Hiro found himself cutoff as he tried to desperately reject her.

"That's-!"

"Because nobody will accept us?"

Gulping his saliva that had gathered in his throat, Hiro watched as Ichigo's demeanor shifted dramatically into something warm and affectionate once more as she lowered herself to match his height, her hands gently caressing his cheek.

Leaning in close, her voice matched her face in sweet kindness as she softly reassured him.

"I don't care about that." Warmth flooded her voice as she stroked his cheek.

Before her eyes hardened once more as he felt a harsh grip on his uniform top pull him close as she screamed directly into his face.

"As long I can be with you, Hiro!"

His expression contorted in stress and agony, Hiro could only mumble as he found himself unable to meet her eyes.

"I see..."

His eyes flicked to outside the window of the library, where his gaze fell on the lake that he had first met Zero Two.

It was an act that did not go unnoticed by Ichigo's perceptive eyes.

Uncomfortably frowning to herself as her eyes laid on the lake as well, Ichigo tried to reassure him.

"I know there are a lot of other problems..."

Slamming her hands on either sides of the window so harshly it made the frame rattle, Hiro flinched and shut his eyes as Ichigo screamed at him once more, her face mere inches from his, green orbs blazing with fury.

"But none of them matter! If something were to happen and we have a kid, I'll-"

At the sound of her furious declaration, Hiro sharply rose from his seated position, knocking Ichigo back on her rear as he yelled at her,

"Reality isn't so simple!" his voiced raised itself as he looked down upon her.

Baring her teeth, Ichigo rose up to meet him head on as she screamed in his face, the loudness of her voice causing Hiro to flinch away once more as his eyes found itself shutting on reflex. Her green eyes wide and furious as she glared,

"Then we should just get rid of that difficult reality-"

A sharp cracking sound rang out and echoed off the walls of the library, it's reverberations making the slap sound even harsher then it already was.

"Hyan!"

A cry of pain rang out as Ichigo found herself flung to the floor.

Soft whimpers of pain were released from the prone form of the blue-haired Pistil that had been knocked to the ground from the force of his strike. An ugly red mark began to form on her fair skin, marring it's pristine beauty.

Harshly panting at the escalation of their argument, Hiro muttered out.

"Don't say it like it's nothing..."

With tears streaming down her eyes, both from the pain and the shock of Hiro actually striking her for the first time in her entire life, Ichigo rose from the floor as she furiously grabbed her stuffed rabbit and stomped out of the library.

Hiro could only sob into his palms as she left.

* * *

"Why would you say such horrible things? Do you hate me now?" Ichigo asked as they sat opposite each other at their makeshift dinner table in her room.

Hiro could not find the strength within himself to answer her as he buried his face into his hands in frustration. The gritting of his teeth apparent from the subtle shifting of his lips.

Unable to tolerate the silent treatment from him anymore, Ichigo slammed her hands on the dinner table, silver cutlery lightly bouncing in the air as she did so.

"Hiro!" she pressed.

"The Doctor sent me a mail, okay?"

"...Eh?"

Hiro spoke, his face still buried in his hands as he recalled the message he had received from the Doctor earlier in the day.

"Apparently, Zero Two has filed a request to return to the front-lines with the Nines."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed upon hearing that.

"And what about it? She wants to drag you along as her official partner? She doesn't even have a machine to ride!" Ichigo sarcastically quipped as she sipped from her glass of tea.

Hiro's eyes met hers as he finally revealed his face from the coverage of his palms.

"No. She requested to go alone, to the sectors marked with the highest klaxosaur activities."

The glass of tea slipped from her hands as the green liquid stained the wooden floor of her room.

"That's insane! That's nothing more than suicide!" she gasped. What was Zero Two thinking, filing a crazy request like that?

Ichigo felt a pang of guilt hurt her heart as she realized the reason for her transfer request.

However, it would not compare to the pain she would soon suffer, as Hiro's determined gaze met hers, speaking the words of complete and utter betrayal.

"Let's break up."

Ichigo's world blurred as she felt a sense of vertigo overtake her, her head spinning. As her mind processed his words, Hiro hammered the final nail into the coffin of their newly discovered relationship.

"I belong to Zero Two. I don't know if she'll take me back after the things I have done, but I'll keep trying as long as it takes. Even if she hates me, even if she despises me, I will wait for the day she'll come to accept me once more." Hiro spoke, his voice firm and determined.

"So let's stop seeing each other like this, Ichigo."

* * *

Ichigo shut the door to her room as she left to take a walk for some much needed fresh air.

Exhaling loudly into his palms, Hiro surveyed the destruction and chaos of her room as food and drinks were spilt everywhere.

* * *

He knew he was being sentimental and stupid. He knew that it was nothing more than a childish act that cried over spilt milk. But he still did it anyway.

And that was how Hiro found himself by the lakeside where he had first met Zero Two in Plantation 13. The moon casting its ethereal light onto the water's surface, reflecting it.

He remembered creeping around the bushes as he heard her sing, her feet in the lake with her boots and pantyhose folded over beside her.

He remembered the stupid twig that gave him away as he stepped on it, causing it to crack.

He remembered how her smouldering gaze devoured him with it's intensity.

He remembered how she had called him darling, in full for the first time. Her previous words only managing the first syllable during her childhood with him.

He remembered loving Zero Two.

In fact that was wrong, he had never stopped loving Zero Two.

"Ah it must be nice to be young again, how I remember the follies of youth along with the constant brooding in scenic locations."

Hiro closed his eyes as he recognized that voice, distinctive as it was being altered by an mechanical auto-tuner.

"I messed up." he said simply towards the presence behind him.

"Yes, you did." his casual tone leaving no mercy as he rubbed salt into his wound.

Sighing in resignation, Hiro turned to face the Doctor.

"Are you here to beat me to death with your cane, then?" Hiro asked.

A sharp, barking laugh came through as Hiro made his joke. Shaking his head in amusement, Werner replied.

"Maybe I will when you get Strelizia blown up again." he accused.

Wincing his eyes at his tone, Hiro mumbled his apologies for getting the Doctor's favorite machine totaled.

As he allowed the followup silence to wash over them, Hiro found himself relaxing at the sounds of the crickets that dominated the night forests.

"I don't know what to do." he confessed.

The sharp look of his one remained eye fixed upon him as Werner awaited him to continue.

"I messed up big time, there's so many pieces around that I just don't know where to start."

"Well at least you know that you've messed up, I think that's step one." Werner deadpanned.

Rolling his eyes at the usual casual attitude the Doctor always carried with him, Hiro jabbed back at him.

"Sorry but earlier today someone already gave me that advice."

"Dammit, guess I'll have to pull another one out of my ass then."

Chuckling at their relaxed banter, Hiro felt the anxiety leave his body. But as fun as it was to keep throwing and returning quips with the Doctor, he had a sin to atone for.

Straightening his back as he faced the Doctor, Hiro made a deep bow as he pleaded for assistance.

"Help me. Please."

Werner found himself blinking in surprise at his request.

That boy was really serious, wasn't he?

Waving his hands at Hiro, Werner told him off.

"Hey stop that, I'm not that old yet."

"Please!"

Hiro cried out, his pride buried behind the dirt as he resolved to do anything in his power to receive Zero Two's forgiveness.

"Raise your head, boy."

Returning back to his normal posture, Hiro stood in rapt attention as he listened to the Doctor.

"Listen, and listen closely. Instead of moping around, advance forward and steel yourself to do whatever it takes to repair your mistakes. Zero Two has not left Plantation 13 yet, you can still talk things out with her." he advised.

"When is she scheduled to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"That's not much time..." he muttered.

"More than enough. Listen, if you think love is a hundred percent smooth sailing, you're dead wrong. Your situation was more common than you think back in the old world, although that does not take away from the severity of your crimes. But my point is, it's only over if you allow it to be over." Werner spoke as he continued.

"Don't give up just yet. If you wish, you could see it as this way. Until we've seen someone's darkness, we don't really know who they are. Until we have forgiven someone's darkness, we don't really know what love is."

Fixing his hands on his shoulders, the Doctor's lone eye stared into him.

"You've seen her darkness too, haven't you?"

 _Mitsuru's crushed hand._

 _"Weaklings die. Big deal."_

 _"Forget about him. He's done for."_

 _"Fodder."_

Hiro nodded.

"And you still love her, regardless?"

"I do."

"Then have some faith in her feelings too."

Fishing out a small red velvet box from his lab coat's pockets, he pressed it into Hiro's hands. With a sweep of his hands, he motioned for Hiro to open it.

The twin bands of platinum glinted under the moonlight, it's inscriptions making Hiro's eyes grow wide.

Werner Franxx.

Karina Milsa.

A breath hitched itself in Hiro's throat as he realized the magnitude of the gift he was receiving.

"W-why would you go so far, for someone like me?"

For the rest of his life, Hiro would never forget the scene that displayed itself in front of his eyes. He would etch it into his memories for the rest of his days.

The moonlight cast a shadow over the elderly adult before him, his single eye wet with an emotion that only a select few in this entire planet were privy too.

His voice was so soft, Hiro's ears strained to catch his ghost of a whisper.

"Karina would have wanted this as well..."

Nodding towards the Doctor, he resolved to not let him down.

* * *

"Woohoo! Food's ready!"

"Look, meat!"

Miku rolled her eyes at how simple boys could get when it came to their priorities. Grumbling to herself how a real gentleman would feed the ladies before consuming his portion of food, she glared at Zorome as he started an impromptu competition of shrimp eating with Futoshi.

Goro chuckled at his squad mates antics as he picked up a couple of skewers of roasted marshmallows and made his way to the palm tree where Zero Two sat under for the entire day. Goro felt his concern rise at the suspicious behavior of Ichigo, the disappearance of Hiro and Zero Two's melancholy all occurring at once.

 _Something must have happened between the three, I need to talk to Zero Two and find out._

Approaching Zero Two, he offered a skewer of roasted marshmallow.

"Here. You like sweet foods right? Have some, too."

Her face looked as if it was carved out of granite, from the way she had looked at him. Goro felt the sweat build on his forehead as he hoped he wasn't about to be eaten alive by the dangerous Partner Killer in front of him.

After an eternity of her dead eyed stare, Zero Two reached out and took the offering of peace. Slowly chewing on the gooey sweet substance, Goro tried his best to appear subtle in his interrogation.

Keyword being tried.

"Are you getting along with Hiro?"

The skewer of half chewed marshmallow dropped onto the sand as the question left Goro's lips. With a growling sound of anger, Goro found himself staring into the glowing red eyes of Zero Two.

"It's none of your business what goes on between me and darling."

Gulping in fear, Goro beat a hasty retreat back to the campfire where the rest of his squad mates didn't seem to notice their encounter. It seemed there was trouble in paradise between Hiro and his partner, but from Zero Two's reaction, it was best to let sleeping klaxosaurs lie.

When the barbecue had finished, Goro dusted off his hands as he finished putting out the hot charcoal rocks. Yawning out at the late night, he slipped into his sleeping bag as he enjoyed the cool beach air chilling his skin.

* * *

Rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, Goro yawned once more as he slipped out of his sleeping bag, performing a series of stretches as he did so, the early morning sun doing wonders to refresh him. Glancing around their makeshift camp, he noticed Zero Two sitting at the campfire, staring at the dying embers of the flames.

Her eyes had a downcast, bitter look in them as she watched the embers fizzle and die out.

Closing her eyes in resignation, Zero Two's body tensed up for some unknown reason.

A reason that he would soon come to know as the massive gales of winds blew away their makeshift camp tents and supplies all over the beach.

Using his hands to shield his eyes from the blades of wind, Goro's jaw dropped at the multiple Franxxs that had just landed on the beach, barely fifty meters away from their camp site.

"Hey, Iota. It's time to go home."

Confused at the sudden turn of events, Goro found himself moving forwards to confront them.

That was until the orange tip of a Magma Lance buried itself into the sand besides him, knocking him over with the shockwave.

 _Those guys... are they serious!? They could have killed someone!_

"Do not interfere." The voice of Nine Alpha rang out over the external speakers of the Nines-Model Franxx.

Turning towards Zero Two who stared upwards at the Franxx in front of her as it set it's arm down onto the beach sand, it's hand opening as it did so, Nine Alpha called out.

"We're burning daylight, Iota. Lets go pack your bags and get moving." even over the external speakers, the signature drawl of Nine Alpha made itself known.

Goro pulled himself together and shook the sand out of his beach shorts, yelling at Zero Two as she lifted herself onto the palm of Nine Alpha's Franxx.

"Wait! Where are you going? Does Hiro know you're leaving? Is Hiro leaving with you? Zero Two!"

Zero Two's cold turquoise eyes never left his as Goro was blown backwards once more by the backwash of Nine Alpha's Franxx lifting off.

 _Hiro! You have to do something about this!_

Goro prayed in his mind as he felt his body land in the cluttered pile that had used to be his sleeping tent.

* * *

Hiro felt his blood freeze as he stood in front of the Parasite Lodge's entrance. Her elongated red horns curving itself upwards as Zero Two adjusted her white APE issued greatcoat. Black suited security tailed her as they carried her luggage cases.

Fixing her gaze forward and over his shoulder, doing her best to pointedly not look at him, Zero Two walked along the path. Her hard eyes determinedly fixed forwards as she passed him.

 _"Come then, both your steed and your princess awaits you."_

He might not have a steed at the moment, but he still thought of himself as her prince, and even though his path might have been waylaid,

 _He wanted everything to get back on track._

 _He had lost too much by being passive._

 _He was a sinner, but if Zero Two allowed him the grace to, he would gladly spend his remaining days atoning for her._

Her footsteps grew quieter as they increased in distance. Hiro felt his hands grip the red velvet box that held their engagement rings, providing him with the courage to proceed.

All the while, Ichigo stood from a distance, watching the entire thing play out without uttering a word.

Taking in a deep breath, he prepared himself to change the ending of that picture book. Turning around, he called out towards her retreating back.

"ZERO TWO!"

His voice rang out, such was it's volume that birds scattered away from their perches.

Zero Two halted in place. Not moving forward, but not turning to acknowledge him either.

The black suited men in shaded visors glanced at each other as they moved in to surround him. Ignoring their actions, Hiro screamed his lungs out.

"I'm sorry!"

Multiple impacts on his body forced him onto the ground as the black suited security men dogpiled him. Pressing him down against the ground through sheer numbers and raw weight. Tears spilled out from his eyes as Hiro screamed under the pile of humanity that shackled him from soaring.

"For breaking our promise!"

A punch slammed against his face, trying to force him to shut up. Hiro ignored the burning sensation of pain as he continued screaming, tears flowing freely down his face.

"Hey, let him go! He just wants five minutes to talk to her!" The screaming of Ichigo's voice added into the chaos as she desperately tugged at one of the many black suited security men that were piled upon him.

Sucking in a painful breath, Hiro screamed out for the fourth and final time.

"Please don't go, Zero Two!"

A hand clamped over his mouth, muffling any further sounds coming from him. As Hiro struggled against the human press, with Ichigo screaming her lungs out and scratching every security man she could reach, he watched through tearing eyes for Zero Two's response.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Hiro prayed to every power that existed in the world that she would turn back, hoping that his desperate plea had somehow gotten through to her.

She never did.

With her horns glowing red once more, Zero Two snarled as she left, bitterness painted all over her face.

Hiro felt his heart shatter in a million pieces as he broke down in a sobbing mess.

* * *

"Welcome home, Nine Iota."

Nine Alpha outstretched his arms mockingly as he welcomed her back.

Zero Two forced herself to keep walking towards the massive transport plane that was parked in the Departure Terminal of Plantation 13, ignoring his verbal barbs.

"Since Strelizia is destroyed, you're going to have to get used to piloting one of the Nines-Model unit, like us! Isn't that wonderful, Iota? Now we can truly be like a real squad."

Zero Two's eyes flicked towards the rows of Stamens that stood at attention, their faces emotionless and without expression.

Tracking the movement of her sight, Nine Alpha smirked as he taunted her in his singsong voice.

"Take a look. We've prepared all these fodder for you."

Zero Two gritted her teeth as she fought the urge to retch at the idea of piloting with another Stamen that wasn't her darling.

"Use as many as you like." his sneering drawl finished.

Zero Two ignored him as she sat in the furthest row of the seats in the transport plane, her eyes hard and bitter as she watched the ramp close and lock itself.

A serious look returning to his face, Nine Alpha snapped towards his squad.

"Delta, Beta and Gamma."

Three pairs of eyes turned to acknowledge him.

"Security detail around the transport. In case anyone from Plantation 13 gets any funny ideas."

"What about you, Alpha?" Delta asked.

"My unit will be in the transport plane's cargo hold, I wish to keep Zero Two company in person." he smiled.

As Nine Alpha sat himself directly across Zero Two's seat in the transport plane, he couldn't help but let a smile break across his face as the transport plane lifted off.

* * *

"Is such uncivilized behaviour really necessary? Might I remind you cogs, the Parasite you are manhandling is APE's Special Specimen."

A hard voice spoke out as Hiro found his frenzied struggling now unneeded as the black suits started to get off him, ending their human dogpile.

Coughing out harshly as air now flowed unrestricted into his burning lungs, Hiro sat up as Ichigo was immediately by his side, rubbing his back to ease his discomfort.

As a shadow loomed over him, cast by the morning sunlight, Hiro found himself looking up into the single eye of his old Commanding Officer.

Nodding to the both of them, he motioned with his cane.

"Follow me."

* * *

As they stood outside the massive steel doors of the Hangars in their piloting suits, Werner grunted as he flashed his S-Class ID with it's special update that allowed him to access this particular Hangar in Plantation 13.

The protesting of abused steel screeched itself raw as the entrance to the Hangars began it's motions. As the darkness of the unlit Hangars revealed itself, Hiro and Ichigo found their eyes squinting as they tried to peer into it.

With two quick claps of his hands, Werner activated the automatic lighting systems of the Hangar.

Harsh bright fluorescent lights lit up the entire hangar, revealing it's sole occupant.

"Strelizia...!"

Hiro and Ichigo's voices both rang out in unison as their minds processed the rebirth of the bird of paradise right before their very eyes.

"Not quite." Werner corrected them as he prepared to explain his latest creation.

"This is the FRX-02-F2 Hi-Filament Strelizia."

Hiro allowed his eyes to take in every detail of the machine that stood before him.

It retained the overall white and red color scheme and frame aesthetics of the FRX-01 Strelizia, but that was where the similarities ended.

It contained a bulkier look which included efficient placement of thrusters across it's body, finishing off with a pair of dual long boosters on it's rear providing it's main thrust and acceleration.

"It's a new machine, adding state-of-the-art technology onto a completely redesigned frame with no expense spared, as developed in secret under the direct orders of the APE Council of Humanity."

The sleek rifle with it's white and black color scheme gripped in it's right arm, a fresh Magma Cartridge loaded in it's magazine well.

"It was constructed with the data we have gathered from the original FRX-01 unit, along with it's renovated upgrade, FRX-01C Strelizia Custom."

A trio of Magma Stakes mounted on it's left forearm. A carry over from Strelizia Custom.

"It's greatest characteristics, the 'Filament System', comes from the combination of our latest flight controls, the Fly-By-Light Transmission System, along with Wing Binders to assist it's Active Mass Balance Auto-Control system. With the more efficient full body thruster layout and dual long boosters on it's rear, this unit is extremely specialized in high mobility aerial and space combat."

The four wing binders, two on each shoulder, that had the ability to extend outwards as needed and fold inwards to lay against it's back when parked in a Hangar.

"Every module has been specifically designed to maximize the unit's aerodynamics, as in line with it's speciality in aerial and space combat. When combined with our latest revision of the Magma Fuel Converter, The Hi-Filament Strelizia is able to maintain a hundred percent operational uptime in the airspace."

The shield which was mounted on it's left arm, providing full coverage from the unit's head down to it's calves on a single side. It's design sleek and aesthetically pleasing as it slightly narrowed in dimensions as the shield traveled downwards. Emblazoned on the shield was Zero Two's person emblem, the outline of a unicorn's head with a single horn, painted in red.

Below it, lay a set of numbers, inscribed in red.

02.

"A balanced set of armaments allow it to be effective at all combat ranges."

A pair of 120mm long cannons were mounted on it's back, firing either High Explosive or High-Velocity Armor Piercing shells. On it's hip, the hilt of a Magma Saber, it's blade hidden in the frame when sheathed.

Hidden in it's right forearm, a high-caliber machine gun. Serving as a close-mid range option for crowd control of lesser klaxosaur classes, it's shells were also powerful enough to destroy other Franxx units with a concentrated stream of fire.

"Remote weaponry operated by the Pistil to provide reconnaissance utility and multiple angles of fire."

Located under it's wing binders, four Armour Bits were docked, drawing it's recharge directly from the Magma Fuel Converter.

"In an emergency, the projectile weapons can be directly connected to the Magma Fuel Converter if the unit finds itself running out of munitions."

The Volcano Rifle and the Twin Long Cannons having the ability to discharge solid energy shots from the engine, at the risk of draining it's fuel supply.

"Improved life support and cockpit layout."

The cockpit being moved to the chest instead of the head, allowing extra room for dual linear seats with a 360-degree Panoramic Cockpit, with the entire cockpit able to be ejected instead of the old system of Pistils only ejection system.

"Also, while it might be larger and bulkier than the average Franxx by a small margin, it's firepower, mobility and durability has gotten a significant increase."

Stunned in muted awe, both pilots carried dumbfounded expressions on their faces as they listened to Doctor Franxx elaborate on his latest creation, the Filament Plan.

"Just what in the world is the design goal of this machine?" Hiro murmured in starstruck awe.

Werner's eyes turned towards the shield, emblazoned with Zero Two's personal emblem and name.

"This is the machine that will forge a path for you and Zero Two to the Grand Crevasse. It's her personal machine, but she does not know of it's existence yet."

"And what awaits us at the Grand Crevasse?" Hiro asked.

"The Klaxosaur Princess." his single eye bore itself into him as he spoke.

 _This machine was built to take on any and all classes of klaxosaur up to the Klaxosaur Princess and win?_

 _This. Was. The. Best. Day. Of. His. Life._

Performing a quick breathing exercise to contain his giddiness, Ichigo shattered his boyish fantasies of having a custom state-of-the-art machine to call his own.

"This machine, it has just been assembled, hasn't it?" she pointed out.

"I think it might be so fresh that some of the modules might still be warm from the welding." Doctor Franxx grinned.

Ichigo facepalmed upon hearing that.

"So basically, this has not been field tested or even taken out for it's shakedown cruise? Please tell me you have at least calibrated the Operating Systems on it." Ichigo groaned out.

"Now that you mention it, I think that the OS is done installing while I was going over it's specifications." Werner nodded sagely.

Ichigo let out a shriek of surprise upon hearing his ridiculous statement.

"IT JUST GOT INSTALLED?"

"Yup, why do you think I was talking so much?" he shamelessly admitted.

Ichigo tugged her hair as she freaked out at the previous Commanding Officer's insanity.

"So basically, let me get this straight. You want us to take out this brand new machine, which by the way, has not even been biometrically locked to a pilot because the Operating System has literally been installed in the what, last thirty seconds, completely untuned and uncalibrated, zero adjustments made, with everything having to be done on the fly while we're chasing after Hiro's runaway bride that is being guarded by APE's Special Forces. Was that correct?" Ichigo sarcastically lined out their mission.

"Yes." Werner deadpanned.

Ichigo facepalmed so hard she felt her skin depress under the pressure she was applying with her hands.

"We'll do it!" Hiro pumped his fist as he wholeheartedly agreed.

"Yeah of course you're fine with that, not like I have to do all the work or anything on the shakedown cruise, which might I remind you, is going to be a combat assignment against the entire APE Special Forces squadron." Ichigo rolled her eyes.

"One last thing."

Fishing out a white keycard with Zero Two's personal emblem, Doctor Franx inserted it into the terminal besides the cage that contained Hi-Filament Strelizia. The display flashing with the blinking green screen of a biometric scan requesting a user's input.

Hiro immediately understood what the Doctor was doing, the final step before they could pilot the thing was to register it to a pilot.

He was being asked to put his hand on the sword in the stone.

"With the new Operating System, the registered pilot can be either a Pistil or Stamen, unlike the older units which were Pistil only." Werner dusted off his lab coat as he made to leave.

"I'll leave it up to you two to discuss it privately."

And with a wave of his hands and a tapping of his cane, he was gone.

Without the meditation of a third party, Hiro found himself falling back into the same awkwardness he had with Ichigo earlier in the day, their fights and arguments along with his slap making him shuffle his feet in nervousness as Ichigo too seemed as if she was deep in thought.

After an uncomfortable length of silence, Hiro decided he needed to break the ice and fast.

He had a princess to save after all.

"I think-"

"We should-"

He blinked at they both spoke at the same time, hurriedly correcting himself, Hiro spoke up once more.

"You go first-"

"No you should-"

Breaking out at their silliness, they hunched over as their throats and stomachs started to hurt from the intensity of their laughter. As the laughter settled down between them, Hiro wiped a loose tear from his eye as he felt the nervousness he was previously feeling fade away.

 _It's Ichigo, I've known her my whole life. There's no need to be nervous around her._

Glancing over the new unit, he mentioned to her.

"Looks amazing, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it's beautiful." she murmured, her eyes in awe.

That was until it was replaced by a sorrowful expression on her face as her gaze ran over Zero Two's personal emblem painted on it's shield.

"This isn't mine to pilot." she stated simply.

Her eyes locked on to Hiro as she spoke,

"You have different smiles, did you know that?" she softly mumbled to him, with downcast eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"You smile differently around Zero Two. No one else makes you smile that way. Not even me." she admitted.

"I never noticed that..."

Ichigo laughed at his dumbfounded look.

"Of course not, silly! No one carries a mirror around themselves." she flicked his forehead at his silliness.

Fixing a serious look on her face as she continued,

"I know because I've been watching over you all my life. Not that it made a difference." she smiled sadly.

Hiro felt his heart pang at her admission, as Ichigo continued, her hands clasped around her front.

"I get that what we did was wrong. I do know that." she spoke as her eyes were fixed on the ground, the guilt too eating her up from inside.

Gathering her courage, Ichigo lifted her eyes to meet his.

"I manipulated you, Hiro."

Returning her determined stare, Hiro countered,

"I was supposed to push you away, but I didn't."

Ichigo shook her head as she heard his self-criticism.

"I've been forcing you to put up with my selfishness the entire time." she struck back.

Feeling his heart pang at her watering eyes as Ichigo tried to draw all the blame onto herself, Hiro refused to let her martyr herself for his sake.

"And I allowed myself to be carried away, going along with everything you wanted. We're both lousy people, Ichigo. Plenty of people have been hurt by us. That's why starting from now on, we're going to apologize to everyone, as many times as it takes."

"If they'll even forgive us." she muttered.

"Better to apologize and to be rejected than to not try at all, right? Those were your words in the mock battle." he smiled.

"That's what I mean."

Hiro blinked at the fresh wave of sorrow that filled her face.

"You don't smile at me like you do with Zero Two." Ichigo pointed out, as she tried to blink away her tears.

"I like you, Ichigo." he softly said.

"But you love Zero Two." she pointed out once more.

Fixing his determined stare onto her eyes, Hiro pushed forward, unwilling to repeat his past mistakes.

He broke her heart.

"Yeah. I love Zero Two." he simply stated.

He was surprised however by the beaming smile that she flashed at him, full of joy and happiness.

"I've decided! From this moment onwards, I'll do everything I can to protect you and Zero Two, because you two are happy together." she nodded as she continued, a sly smile growing on her face.

"And if she doesn't like you anymore, I'll just have to tie the both of you together until you start talking things out."

 _Great, I have a matchmaker._

Hiro groaned to himself.

Following her eyes towards the shield that bore Zero Two's personal emblem, Hiro heard her muttering to herself.

"I'm borrowing this for now, Zero Two. I'll return the both of them to you as soon as I can."

Nodding to himself, Hiro turned towards the terminal and placed his hands on the display, biometrically registering Hi-Filament Strelizia to him.

Retrieving the keycard from it's terminal, Hiro was about to call out for Ichigo until he felt the bangs of his hair being brushed aside by her soft hands.

Revealing the pair of blue horns he had been trying so hard to keep hidden.

"I knew it..." she exhaled.

Turning his eyes away in guilt at being caught hiding his genetic defect towards his best friend, Hiro felt her hands stroke his horns, its growth matching Zero Two's when he had first met her at the lake.

"You know... This will probably be the last time we'll ever pilot together." sadness filled her voice as she spoke.

"Yup." he nodded in agreement, not wishing to pass on any false hope towards her.

Her green eyes locked onto his as she declared.

"Lets make it count then. Come on Hiro, lets go get your runaway bride back."

Hiro stood alongside Ichigo as the chest cockpit's hatch of Hi-Filament Strelizia opened to reveal another final set of surprises.

"There's two seats?" Hiro's eyes widened at the revelations occurring right before him.

"I finally get a seat?" Ichigo blurted out.

For some reason, Hiro found himself laughing out loud at that.

"Hey, it's not funny! You have no idea how tiring it gets for a Pistil in the Pistil Terminal sometimes!" Ichigo complained.

Hiro kept laughing at her expense.

"Hiro, be serious! Which seat do I take? Both of them have joysticks on the armrests." she continued her complaining.

"I dunno... check the manual?" he suggested.

"The manual just left." she sarcastically pointed out.

Making noises of confusion, Hiro made a snap decision.

"The front seat is slightly lowered in height, that should be the Pistil's seat."

"Should be?" She raised her eyebrows at his non-committal answer.

"We'll swap seats if it doesn't work, okay?"

Climbing into the front seat, Ichigo scowled.

"I just want to remind you, we have to fight The Nines in this." she grumbled.

"On The Job Training!" he exclaimed.

Ichigo sighed at she looked at the holographic consoles before her, her hands resting on the horizontal joysticks, her feet resting on three different pedals.

"I hate you so much." she muttered.

* * *

"We have an unknown unit on Catapult #2! Unknown unit, identify yourself! You are not cleared for launch. Return to the Plantation immediately!" The operator ordered into the communications channel as she brought the image up on the main display of the Command Center, the bulkheads of Plantation 13 sliding aside to reveal the linear rails of Catapult #2 extending out as their yellow warning lights blared it's klaxons.

"Are you sure about this? That machine hasn't even been field tested yet you know? Going up against The Nines, they'll be sitting ducks out there!" Nana worried towards the Doctor beside her.

"The Hi-Filament Strelizia specs are top-of-the-line and I will take responsibility for any damage incurred. Even if it's untested and uncalibrated for combat, we can trust the Aggressors to figure something out. Besides that boy isn't going to stop until he gets Zero Two back." his robotic eye shifted towards the third and final commander in the Command Center as he awaited his approval.

"Although, considering who the pilots of that machine are, final approval for sortie lies with Hachi. Hachi, what say you?" he grunted.

Exhaling in the chilly, temperature controlled air of Hi-Filament Strelia's cockpit. Hiro tightened his grip on the joysticks. In front of him, Ichigo was frantically rapid firing keystrokes on her holographic console as she ran through their pre-launch checklist, muttering to herself under her breath.

"Take the calibrations and reset the zero moment point and MFC. Then connect the Armor Bits control modules directly to the Magma Fuel Converter. Reconstruct the neural linkage network. Test activation of the Hyper Jammer, failed. Calibration of optics? Lets delay that we need the G-Force dampeners up as soon as possible. Reinstalling motion data patterns. System online! Main camera functional-"

Hiro gave a sideways glance of guilt as he relaxed in the Stamen seat.

"Hi-Filament Strelizia, activate!" her voice cried out.

Hiro sucked in a breath of air as he felt the synchronization-bond establish itself between the both of them, warm and comforting. The entire cockpit fell away as it was painted with the outside world colors in a full 360 degree field of view. The linear seats of him and Ichigo being the only opaque equipment in the entire cockpit.

With shimmering flashes of color, Hi-Filament Strelizia's faceplate polarized.

Focusing his attention, Hiro continued listening in to the conversation in the Command Center as they debated over their sortie.

Hiro shut his eyes as he prayed that Hachi would for once not be a complete-

A sound of amusement broke out from the Strategic Officer.

Hiro eyes cracked open in shock as he heard Hachi actually give a short "Hmmph" of amusement after Doctor Franxx's speech.

 _What in the world...?_

"It's all right. Sometimes we should let the children do what they want. Isn't that the point of this test team in the first place?"

Hiro's jaw _dropped_ at his approval. He could only imagine Nana's current expression in the Command Center as Hachi actually bent the rules for once in his life.

And from the sound of surprise that came from Ichigo, he assumed she was equally as shocked as he was.

Clearing his throat, Hiro's face broke out in a pure, bright smile as he personally thanked everyone for their support.

"Nana, everyone in Plantation 13, thank you for taking care of us!"

In the Command Center, Nana nodded approvingly as Hachi allowed the slightest of smiles to break across his face.

In front of him, Ichigo was slightly bouncing in her seat, unable to suppress her joy as she heard him thank their caretakers.

Tensing his body as he made two light taps on his joysticks to signal his readiness to Ichigo, a serious and determined look filled his face as he announced their departure.

"Hiro and Ichigo in the Hi-Filament Strelizia, here we go!"

In the Command Center, Nana swung out her arm as she ordered the purging of it's cage locks.

"Release!"

The sound of explosions rocked through the Hangar as the sortie locks holding Hi-Filament Strelizia broke off in pieces.

Swiping her holographic console, Ichigo's displayed their launch orders on the main display.

Upon seeing the entire world around him light up in green approvals, Hiro slammed forth the joysticks on his linear seat, as he depressed the foot pedals.

The dual long boosters on their rear whirled around as they purred with the sound of igniting flames. It's thrusters shot out bluish flames, creating a dangerous zone of fire that would have charred anything that was unlucky enough to stand in it's exhaust. In but mere moments, Hi-Filament Strelizia was tearing out of it's linear rails.

The both of them allowed their bodies to follow the recoil of the G-Forces pushing them against their seats as they repeated a process familiar to them, only this time with a single difference.

 _This thing's acceleration is insane, I felt that through the kinetic foam of my suit._

As they weaved through the beautiful morning skies, their wings extending out behind them as they rushed to rescue his princess, Hiro found himself staring at the twin platinum bands that he had slung across his joysticks as he declared,

"I'm not a cog in a machine. I'm a human being."

Ichigo nodded her approval as he tightened his grip on the joysticks, closing his eyes and focusing on the sensations of his own beating heart.

"And you're a machine that amplifies human abilities." he spoke to it, as he poured his entire soul into communicating with her machine.

Zero Two's machine.

With Strelizia.

 _The bird of paradise rushing to restore it's faithfulness. An object of love, not hate nor anger nor jealousy._

"That's what you were built for. For people who can sense other people's hearts and feel their sadness."

A smile graced her face at his words as she drew up the region's map, tracking Zero Two's transport plane, now nearly four hundred kilometers away, thirty-five thousand feet in the air.

With a firm and determined voice, Hiro declared his intentions as his body shuddered with the storm of emotions rolling though him like a wave.

"So don't let anger swallow you up."

If Hiro had a mirror, he would have noticed his eyes glowing ice blue along with his horns.

A single tear rolled down Ichigo's cheek as she clutched at her chest, enduring the stabbing sensations of pain and coppery taste of blood in her mouth.

 _We're coming to get you, Zero Two._

 _Just hang in there._

 _No matter what, I will secure your happiness with Hiro._

 _I will protect his smile._

 _Even if it's the last thing I do._

* * *

As Zero Two gazed at the scenery outside of her window seat in the transport plane, she felt the faintest of warm touches caress her heart, her eyes widening at that familiar sensation that she found herself still loving oh so much.

With the faintest of voices, she whispered as she brushed her fingers against the glass.

 _"_ Darling..."

* * *

 **Technical Specifications**

Classification :

Prototype High Mobility General-Purpose Franxx

Model Number :

FRX-02-F2

Official Name :

Hi-Filament Strelizia

Overall height :

25.0m

Base weight :

49.6 t

Power Source :

Magma Fuel Converter

Armor Material :

Titanium Alloy

Crew :

2 pilots (Stamen/Pistil in ejectable linear seats in chest cockpit)

* * *

 **General Data**

Manufacturer :

Plantation 13

Developed From:

FRX-01C Strelizia Custom

Operator :

APE Special Tactical Fighter Training Group

* * *

 **Equipment**

Standard :

Fly-By-Light Transmission System  
Hyper Jammer  
Ejectable Cockpit

Optional :

2x External Propellant Tank  
Vanguard Over Boost

* * *

 **Standard Armaments**

Fixed :

2x 120mm Long Cannons  
4x Armor Bit  
Machine Gun  
1x Magma Saber  
3x Magma Stakes  
Magma Horn

Handheld :

Volcano Rifle  
Shield  
2x Small Missile

Optional :

Queen Pike


	18. Chapter 17

"They're getting away, can we pursue?"

"Mm. The Filament System and me will both support you to our fullest capabilities."

"Well, lets get going then."

A shock wave along with it's associated sonic boom was left in their wake as their wing binders fully extended outwards, dual long boosters roaring out.

All the while, a serious expression filled her face as she felt a cracking sensation in her ribs, refusing to allow the pain to show on her face.

* * *

Yawning out loud in boredom, Nine Alpha allowed his gaze to lazily rest upon the silent figure seated across him, her legs crossed as she sat on her white greatcoat, a side of her face partially obscured in the shadow cast by the cap she was wearing.

"Don't look so down, Iota. The two of you were just never meant to be."

A slight twitching of her cheeks was the only indication he received that she had heard him, considering how she had her eyes fixed on the wall over his shoulders for the entire length of their trip thus so far.

Smiling to himself, Nine Alpha continued.

"Allow me to express my admiration for you, Iota."

Her eyes flickered towards him for the briefest of moments at his praising tone, surprised as she was by the shift in his methods.

Nine Alpha couldn't help but inwardly smirk at being finally able to attract her attention.

"I mean, I'm amazed at how much of a difference a change in treatment can make in developing your partners." Nine Alpha spoke as he continued, "Who could have known that the key to finally achieving the compatibility scores you've always sought after was but to make him fall for you."

Winking at her, as if they were sharing a secret between them, he mockingly congratulated her,

"You're blossoming into a fine woman, Iota. You've even managed to turn a celebrity pilot like Code 016 into fodder."

A vicious snarl broke out from Zero Two as she locked her furious eyes onto him, promising death and violence.

"Darling is not fodder."

Chuckling at how easily baited she could be regarding Code 016, Nine Alpha's smile grew as the conversation continued exactly as he had planned.

"My mistake then. I guess that I should have called him 'fertilizer' instead."

Allowing himself to be pulled towards her as Zero Two harshly gripped at his collar, Nine Alpha found himself enjoying the purity of her emotions as she allowed them to be put on full display openly for all to see, the glowing of her eyes and horns notifying him of her state of absolute rage.

"What's wrong, Iota? Hit a little too close to home?" he taunted.

Raising her fist at the smug little jerk in front of her, Zero Two prepared to smash his skull to bits until his brain matter splattered against the floor of the transport plane.

That was until she heard the next words leave his lips, sending chills down her spine as she found her rage leaving her.

"I was watching you during the Kissing Operation."

Zero Two's eyes widened at that revelation, Nine Alpha had been observing them during that battle? That meant-

 **"Did you enjoy consuming his life force?"  
**

 _No no no she did not, he was lying! There was no way she felt even a speck of enjoyment during their time in Stampede Mode. Her tears were proof of that._

Stumbling back in shock, Zero Two tried to ignore the churning in her tummy as she refuted his accusations.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about-"

Dusting off his uniform, Nine Alpha cut off her frantic denials as he mercilessly forced her to acknowledge the existence of her heart's darkest desires.

"Come now, Iota. It's unbecoming of you to lie towards your family. I know the real you better than anyone, even compared to that fake, Code 016."

Angered at his arrogant declaration, a look of disgust filled her face as Zero Two spat at him,

"Not everyone is as sick as you."

Undeterred by her disdain, Nine Alpha strode forth, breaching her personal space as he did so, whispering into her ears.

A shiver of disgust rolled through her body as her ears betrayed her and processed his speech.

"It must have felt different than the hundreds of Stamens you previously had drained dry."

Hot breaths splashed against her ear as he continued, forcing the darkest, most toxic parts of her heart to the surface.

"Considering how much affection you held for him, it must have felt truly satisfying. Tell me, did you enjoy the sensation of his soul breaking down, binding itself to your very blood cells, as you drunk deep into his well of vitality?" A smirk grew across his face as Nine Alpha relentlessly continued his assault. "Did you enjoy absorbing every drop of his life essence into your body? All of his love, affections, feelings and _blood_. Every drop returning to you as you squeezed him dry, enforcing your ownership over him."

Pitched breaths of stress came from her as Zero Two frantically denied him.

"No! You're wrong! I didn't enjoy it one bit! I was crying my heart out as I forced myself onto him!"

Pulling back as he fixed his gaze on her panicked eyes, Nine Alpha proceeded to finish off Zero Two's torment.

"I'm sure you did. But somewhere, deep within your heart, a small part of you was happy that from now until the end of eternity, fragments of Code 016's soul would have been inside of you for the rest of time."

 _He was wrong! She didn't want that at all! That sounded sick and deviant!_

 _Darling was hers so..._

 _Darling was hers so..._

 _ _Darling was hers so...__

 _Darling... belonged... to her?_

 _Would it be really be so bad if she could make Darling stay by her side... forever?_

 _Even if..._

 _That meant..._

 _ **Consuming him?**_

Her loud, stressed breathing rang out along the hull of the transport plane as the seeds of doubt were planted in her mind by Nine Alpha, who merely observed her mental breakdown with increasing amusement.

The squeaking of wheels announced the arrival of Nine Zeta as she interrupted their conversation, pushing along a trolley of fine consumables as she did so.

With a casual wave of his arm, Nine Alpha cocked his head as he questioned the hunched over Pistil in front of him, her hands clutching at her chest.

"So what will it be today, Iota? Coffee, tea or juice?"

* * *

"Tracking multiple targets of opportunity. Our entire weapons loadout is ready to engage."

"Just as well. Commencing attack."

* * *

Stretching out her body in the Stamen seat, Nine Delta opened a line to the rest of the transport plane's security detail,

"How much longer do we have to babysit Iota? My backside is getting sore from sitting around all day." she looked towards Epsilon, complaining all the while as she did so.

"We're getting close to our home Plantation. Just keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious." he reminded her.

Nine Delta looked around her at the trio of units that were parked on the roof of the massive transport plane, standing guard as their current altitude was not suited for them to cruise alongside the transport plane, it was far too high up for that. With that in mind, she scoffed at the idea of anyone managing to pursue them at this height ceiling.

"Hey, Alpha! This is far enough right? There's just no way anyone could have followed us this far out."

Swirling the flute of sweet wine in his hands, Nine Alpha's eyes came to a rest over Zero Two, who had returned to her usual manner of fixing her stare over his shoulder after their previous interaction, as he proceeded to rub salt into the pink-haired Pistil's wounds.

"Guess Code 016 isn't coming for you after all. He must have his hands full with that adorable fangirl of his." A mocking smile grew across his face as he spoke. "I must say, they make a cute couple, don't you think so as well?"

The tightening of her eyes delighted him. Assured of his success, Nine Alpha couldn't help but indulge himself as he started gloating about his victory.

"I would know better than anyone else. After all, it was me that pushed Code 015 over the edge."

A noise of surprise spilled forth from Zero Two's throat upon hearing his admission, the noise turning his mocking smile into a feral grin as he bared his canines towards her.

"How did it feel? To have your entire world stolen from under you? My only regret was that I couldn't be there myself to witness your agony."

Choking sounds came from Zero Two as her body shuddered, her head lowered in an attempt to use the shadows provided by her APE issued cap to avoid the shame of giving Nine Alpha the satisfaction of watching the tears spill down her face.

As Nine Alpha hovered over her sobbing form, his shadow casting it's length over her as he did so, Zero Two felt a not so gentle grip on her jaw force her face upwards.

Her watery eyes met his delighted, sadistic ones.

"Forgive me for such uncivilized behavior, but your crying visage is truly a work of art. One can hardly help themselves when faced with such beauty."

Zero Two could only close her eyes as his face approached hers, his tongue revealing itself from his parted lips as Nine Alpha moved in to seal his victory and humiliate her at the same time. He wanted to finish her off by licking her tears and savoring the taste for himself.

"I always get what I want, Iota. Have you not realized this by now?"

As the disgust and shame within her reached its peak, with her eyes shut, Zero Two prayed for her salvation.

Drunk as he was on his power trip from his assumed victory, Nine Alpha had forgotten a single difference that separated Zero Two from every other Parasite on this planet.

While every other Parasite took in Papa as their figure of worship, Zero Two deviated from the standard teachings of APE.

The savior she held faith in was not a distant, condescending figure in the skies.

For Zero Two possessed a personal bonafide knight.

And he always answered her cries of help.

Always.

* * *

"Rifle, B-Mode!"

"I'm increasing the output!"

"Firing!"

* * *

A streak of orange magma energy whistled past the glass windows of the transport plane, the latent heat of it's beam making itself apparent even through the hull of the transport plane.

Recoiling in shock at the sudden attack he found himself under, Nine Alpha rushed to the landline mounted outside the transport plane's flight deck, his mind shifting into combat mode as he barked commands into the receiver.

Meanwhile, the tear that was rolling down Zero Two's cheek fell and splattered against the floor, escaping it's previous fate.

"Whats going on!? Delta, status report!"

Panicked comm chatter filled the air instead, frustrating him to no end.

"Is he insane!? That was live munitions! Does he intend to start a civil war?"

"Record that as a hostile action! Nines, prepare for combat!"

"Hey... Delta... What the hell... is that?"

Snarling to himself at being ignored, Nine Alpha barged into the cockpit of the transport plane. As he was about to order the pilots to descent towards combat altitudes, Nine Alpha found his voice falling away as he gazed upon something which had no right to exist.

With the telltale orange glow of magma energy lighting up it's barrel, their voices rang out, clear and confident over the open channels.

* * *

"It seems that your hunch was correct. They were around this area."

"...Yup, its all thanks to Strelizia. All I did was follow my heart and she did the rest for me."

"A guidepost of love, those were your words, weren't they?"

"Yep. However, given that it's not battle-seasoned yet, I'd say that an unerring support is needed. Don't you agree?"

"Indeed."

"Also, we have to rescue Zero Two."

"Shes... in that transport plane, yes?"

"That's right. And Nine Alpha has to be in there as well, so don't let your guard down."

Pushing the crew aside in frustration to access the communications module on the dashboard, Nine Alpha snarled at the machine currently hovering over their transport plane, it's wings extended out behind them.

"What is that? Is that... Strelizia?" he demanded.

"Yes, it is the Hi-Filament Strelizia."

Flaring his nostrils in irritation, Nine Alpha growled out his anger.

"Werner you old scoundrel, I can't believe you were making that thing behind our backs. Still, no matter how much you enhance an experimental machine..." his voice trailed off.

As he heard the uncertainty in Nine Alpha's voice, a teasing smile broke out on Hiro's face.

"It still won't match up to you, is it? Honestly, I'm not confident either..."

Chuckling out at his honest admission, Nine Alpha shook his head at the absurdity of a single unit taking on the entire Nines squadron as Hiro continued in his teasing voice.

"The frame is untested, the controls are too sensitive and the Hyper Jammer is still offline. With all that said, my only worry right now is..."

His chuckling transitioned into a sharp bark of laughter.

Opening his eyes once more, revealing the blue glow of his irises, Hiro couldn't help but grin out as he finished,

"If I can suppress its power and rescue Zero Two without having you all killed, that is."

His laughter immediately died out as Nine Alpha found himself snarling at the ridiculous declaration he had just made.

"How absurd! Do you truly believe you can do that?!"

A serious expression returning to his face once more, Hiro roared his intentions out for all to hear.

"I'm not leaving until Zero Two comes home with me! Try me and find out!"

Switching back to his secure channel for his squadron, Nine Alpha barked out his orders, a furious expression on his face.

"All units, begin your attack!"

Delta's voice came through as she clarified their instructions.

"What about you, Alpha?"

Glancing back towards the passenger cabin where Zero Two still remained seated, he snapped back at her.

"I'll secure Zero Two, the three of you should be enough to take him down." Moving as he spoke, Nine Alpha warned. "But be careful, we're still above the operational ceiling for our units, I have no idea how that thing is even flying at this altitude but until we descend to combat altitude, do not get knocked off the roof of the plane."

A smirk grew on his face as he added a final condition to their orders.

"Oh, and Delta?"

"Hm?"

"Don't go too far playing around with him. Bring him to his knees in despair, but don't deliver the final blow. You must not deprive me of this pleasure."

A flirtatious giggle came through the receiver, her voice eager with glee.

"I was already planning on that, it would be a shame to smash his cute face in and ruin his good looks."

Nodding to Zeta as he ended the call with Delta, Nine Alpha returned to his seat across Zero Two as he taunted her.

"This works just as well. What better way is there to crush his spirit with despair than to deny him at the very last moments before the finish line?" His eyes bore into her, goading Zero Two as he did. "Watch closely, Iota. Watch as your precious Code 016 fails in his quest for redemption and gets crushed by the weight of reality."

Gazing out the window, her fingernails leaving scratch marks on the glass panel as she did so, Zero Two watched as he stared down his trial, outnumbered against APE's elites.

"Darling..."

* * *

The transport plane was descending to combat altitude, he noted, as they circled around it. They were above still above the operational ceiling of the models used by The Nines, thus the three opposing units still remaining on the roof of the massive transport plane merely raised their Magma Lances against him, not making any further moves outside of that.

 _They're buying time. Once they reach combat altitude, they'll kick off and engage us._

Clicking his tongue, Hiro narrowed his eyes as he tried to decide on their opening moves. He had no wish to kill any of The Nines, they were still technically considered allied forces, after all. Murdering an allied troop was still a capital crime, no matter the circumstances.

And on a more personal note, Hiro had no wish to followup his mistakes with even more mistakes.

However, he had no guarantee that they would extend the same courtesy to him, considering The Nines did not answer to regular military justice. Thus he found himself in a dilemma, he was outnumbered against APE's Special Forces, forced into a non-lethal stance against foes which might not play by the same rulebook he carried.

Not to mention that all of their armaments easily classified as lethal weaponry. Even a stray shot could cripple or outright kill someone. He couldn't rely on Hi-Filament's weapon systems.

"Two minutes until the transport plane reaches combat altitude." Ichigo's calm voice notified him, the utmost seriousness she felt at the moment making itself known through their shared connection.

 _We need to disable them._

Nodding to himself, Hiro made his decision. Ensuring that their communication channels were set to "OPEN", considering The Nines did not share any common frequencies with them, it was the only method he had to contact them.

Also, he wanted Zero Two to hear his voice.

Holstering the rifle on it's back, he pointed Hi-Filament Strelizia's shield towards the cluster The Nines had formed on the roof of the massive transport plane, Hiro fired the non-guided small missiles, twin trails of smoke following in it's wake as they lazily approached the trio of units.

As both small missiles slowly approached them, Nine Gamma found himself baring his teeth at the perceived insult.

"He's toying with us! As if that naive attitude will work on us now!"

Casually sidestepping the missiles along with the rest of his squadron, he watched as the explosive munitions continued their lazy journey into the sky behind them.

 _Just what the hell is he thinking, fighting us with the kid gloves still on? He's going to have to die for that._

"Come on!" he roared. "At least use one of the fancy weapons you have strapped onto that machine of yours!"

As Ichigo turned her head to meet his eyes, Hiro noted that from her furious expression , she probably felt the same way as Nine Gamma.

"Use the Volcano Rifle! At this range, we can hit them!" she criticized.

Shaking his head at her suggestion, he rejected her appeal.

"I can't. It's too powerful. We might accidentally hurt someone."

Ichigo felt herself jerking back in shock at his decision, snapping her reply as she did so.

"Is this any time to be holding back!? Zero Two is counting on us!"

Exhaling a harsh breath, Hiro slammed forth his controls, forcing forth a burst of acceleration as he made his intentions clear.

"I just need to close in!"

With the Volcano Rifle holstered on his back along with the signature roar of their dual long boosters, Hiro directly charged them onto the roof of the transport plane. Landing on the roof as The Nines scattered away from his haphazard charge, Hiro immediately found himself locked in close combat with The Nines, desperately dodging the stabs of their Magma Lances where he could, and having them graze Strelizia where he found dodging impossible even with his speciality in close quarters combat.

"This guy, he's good!" Nine Beta grunted.

"Just keep at it! He can't dodge forever!" Nine Gamma hollered as he continued the relentless swings of his Magma Lance, covering the angles that his fellow Nines had left for him.

"Don't hit the cockpit too hard! You'll ruin his cute face!" Nine Delta grinned, as she left an ugly charred mark on Strelizia's shield. He might have twisted at the very last moment to negate most of the damage, but she had claimed the first solid hit onto him.

It was her personal mark on him.

As he executed an emergency mid-air flip that left his Pistil wincing from the G-Forces, Ichigo found herself snarling at his naivety.

"Do you think this is a game, Hiro!? They're killing us by inches here!"

Jerking back the joysticks on her seat as she assisted Hiro in another dodge, barely avoiding their impalement in the process , Ichigo felt the firm grip of his hand on her shoulders as he defended his actions.

"Who's playing around!? I take it seriously when my life or someone else's is on the line, so I'm doing all I can to save Zero Two without screwing up any further, all right!?"

Within the passenger cabin of the transport plane, Zero Two's cheek twitched as she remained in her seat listening to the entire scene, his words reaching her through the speakers in the plane.

Grimacing at his words, Ichigo proceeded to boost them upwards in an attempt to get them clear of the frenzied melee.

"You're not going anywhere, cutie!" Nine Delta yelled out.

Tow cables fired from the hilt of her Magma Lance wrapped around them as Nine Delta grounded them back onto the roof.

With a cry of pain as Ichigo felt the feedback from the cables pulling at Strelizia wash through her body, Hiro had managed to land a single roundhouse kick with all of their available power onto Nine Gamma, it's impact forcing him off the roof of the transport plane.

"What the-!?"

His scream of surprise rang out loud and clear as his Franxx entered a spiraling freefall towards the earth.

"Gamma!"

With a growl of frustration, Nine Beta followed after him, diving off the roof of the transport plane to execute a retrieval before his Franxx could crash land onto the earth.

"Delta! I'll leave Code 016 to you!"

Vocalizing her approval, Nine Delta turned towards him and winked as she brought her Magma Lance down upon him.

"Just you and me now, cutie!"

Bringing his wrists up to block the tip of her Magma Lance, Hiro felt Hi-Filament Strelizia sink into the roof of the transport plane, the scraping sounds of steel rang out as ugly damage marks formed on it's roof.

"If you surrender right now, I'll promise to put in a good word for you in our after action report to Papa so you can avoid the firing squad. Can't guarantee the same for your Pistil there, though." she mocked.

Feeling the strain of holding back her Magma Lance from skewering them seep into his very bones, he screamed over the groans of abused steel being pushed to it's limits as red warning symbols flooded the world around them.

"Can't you raise the output any further!?"

"I can't! I dare not push the Magma Fuel Converter any harder, it might suffer a meltdown! I told you this machine wasn't ready!"

Wincing at the sensation of the roof slowly giving way as they sunk deeper into it's bulkheads, Hiro desperately pleaded with his childhood friend.

"She's overpowering us! Can't we just tough it out for a short moment!?"

"I said I can't! If the Magma Fuel Converter goes, we all go! Including this transport plane with Zero Two in it!"

Snarling at how far he was risking himself for that horned girl, Nine Delta redoubled her efforts into pressing down her Magma Lance, it's sizzling orange tip now dangerously close to Hi-Filament Strelizia's faceplate.

"It's too late for that! Zero Two now belongs to us, The Nines! You had your chance and you blew it!"

"Even so, I still have to try! Because a life without Zero Two isn't a life worth living at all!" Screaming out his defiance, Hiro put his entire heart into the pushing contest he found himself in.

"And whats so special about a partner like her?! With your celebrity status, you could have the pick of the litter when it came to Pistils! If you just wanted a Pistil from The Nines, you could even have had me!"

Blinking away the sudden rush of moisture in her eyes, Ichigo found herself muttering under her breath, inaudible to anyone else.

"It's not like I don't understand your feelings, Delta..."

Ignoring the commotion around her as she reached for the communications module, Ichigo called out to the one person who she knew was listening more closely than anyone else around.

"Zero Two... You're listening in, aren't you?"

* * *

"Hold still! I'm not planning to crash land with you!" Nine Beta complained.

Switching to the secured frequency used by The Nines, Nine Alpha ordered,

"Once Gamma's unit has been successfully retrieved, link up with Delta and finish off Code 016."

Shutting off his communicator, he smirked at Zero Two, her eyes downcast as her body shook with every tremble of the transport plane as the dramatic clash on the roof continued.

"Seems like desire alone isn't enough to change fate."

Allowing condescending compassion to enter his voice, he continued,

"It's for the best, Iota. If you return to him, you'll only end up consuming him once more. If your affections for him run as deep as you claim, you'll stay right here in this transport plane."

Her harsh, ragged breathing was his only reply.

"After all, hes managed to find happiness just fine without you. With Code 015 by his side."

Gulping down the saliva in her throat, Zero Two couldn't find the strength to deny his words, as she remembered the screams of pain she had put him through. The blue pulsing mass on his chest that had caused his entire body to break down.

And she couldn't forget the scene where she had walked in on them, during a moment of passion.

 _Perhaps they weren't meant to be, after all._

"Zero Two... You're listening in, aren't you?"

 _Of course she was, what did Ichigo take her for?_

Nine Alpha's eyebrows raised in amusement at the sound of Ichigo's voice directly addressing her, but he made no further interruptions beyond that.

"You can hate me if you wish, because I was the one who manipulated Hiro."

 _It wasn't that simple, even if she was telling the truth. Darling made a promise and he broke it, along with her heart._

"But right now, Hiro's trying his best for you. I wish you could see him right now, he's crying like an idiot while screaming out so loud its making my ears hurt. Really, he looks like a complete fool."

 _Darling..._

"We'll apologize as many times as we need to, as long as it takes."

A sniffling sound came through the speakers as she spoke, it seemed Ichigo was tearing up herself.

"I won't get in your way anymore. So please, forgive Hiro."

Distantly, she could pick up the clash between him and Nine Delta along with their words.

"The first time I met her, Zero Two dazzled me with her brilliance! She was confident, held her head high and possessed the resolve I lacked! I found her more beautiful than anything else in this entire world!" His voice cried out as he refuted Nine Delta.

"I promised my life to her, and I broke it, along with her heart. Because of my weakness, I lost my way! But, no longer!" he yelled out, his voice pitched from emotions. "These past weeks, I was the happiest I'd ever been my entire life! And I don't want to lose that! So the only thing left now that I can do is to dedicate the remainder of my life towards her, even if she hates me, spits on me, looks down on me with cold eyes, I will always love her! Because-"

Her heart jumped as she felt a familiar warmth caress it, as if he was right there, petting her head like he always did.

"Because you are the shining star that lights up my world, Zero Two!"

With a trembling hand, Zero Two felt her face as she heard his declaration.

It was warm to the touch.

 _What an idiot he was. Saying something so embarrassing like that for everyone to hear._

 _She would have to punish him later for that._

"Hmmph, nice try but-"

Nine Alpha found himself cut off by a sound of amusement from Zero Two as she rose from her seat, chuckling to herself at his silly, heartfelt admission as she did so.

"How can I leave after that?"

Gritting his teeth from frustration as Nine Alpha saw his best laid plans fall apart before his very eyes, he ordered Zeta forward to apprehend their runaway squad mate.

As he saw the body of Zeta being flung backwards to crash into an entire aisle of seats, Nine Alpha could only snarl out his fury, his usual well honed civil demeanor giving way to his true self.

"Stop! What are you doing, Iota?"

Her cheeky grin was his only reply as Zero Two sprinted towards the rear fuselage of the transport plane, her hands on the lever that controlled the opening mechanism of the ramp.

With the hissing sounds of depressurizing air, a storm of gales flooded the passenger cabin, sucking out the silver trolley that had carried their consumables along with the broken seats that Zero Two had smashed when she tossed Nine Zeta like a ragdoll against them.

With a beaming grin on her face as she allowed the gales to rip off her APE issued greatcoat and cap, pink hair billowing behind her as she turned towards Nine Alpha who had his hands shielding his eyes from the blades of wind.

"Think about what you're doing, Iota! If you cross that line, you'll be guilty of desertion! An enemy of APE!" He called out to her.

"Never liked them much anyway. Big deal." Allowing the warmth in the heart to flutter and fill her body, Zero Two laughed as she took a step backwards, her white boots clattering against the lowered ramp of the transport plane.

"Are you planning to fight the entire world alone? Even for you, there are limits to Papa's patience!" Panic filled his voice as Nine Alpha found himself unable to control his emotions.

"I'm not alone. Darling is there."

Zero Two took another step back, now teetering on the edge as her pink hair blew forward and threatened to cover her face.

"Iota! We're thirty thousand feet in the air! This is outright insanity!" Nine Alpha desperately tried to reason with her as he stretched out his hands, hoping she would reconsider her suicidal act.

However, the cheesy smile never left her face for a single moment as Zero Two shot down his appeal.

"I'm not insane."

She giggled towards him.

"I'm in love."

Closing her eyes, Zero Two leant back and allowed gravity to take hold of her body, pink hair billowing outwards as she fell.

"IOTA!"

Clasping her hands in front of her body as she assumed the classic pose of a resting Princess, the horns on Zero Two's head glowed red as she sent out her call to the one she held dearest to her heart.

 _Catch me, Darling._

* * *

Jerking in surprise at the whisper that touched his mind, his eyes and horns glowing blue as they picked up Zero Two's thoughts, Hiro felt a fresh wave of strength fill him as he shoved Nine Delta's Franxx off of him, boosting past her into the sky as he did so.

"Zero Two!"

He immediately brought up Zero Two's free falling body onto the main display as he zoomed in onto her, his heart fluttering at the pose she was assuming. Glancing downwards towards the twin bands of platinum that he had slung around his joysticks, he spoke directly to the bird of paradise.

"You can do it, right, Strelizia?"

The single warm throb he felt in his heart spoke of it's acknowledgement. With his eyes and horns glowing ice blue, Hiro fully embraced the advantages his newfound hybrid nature afforded him as he simply became one with Strelizia, feeling as if the entire Franxx was but a mere extension of his body. Inhaling deeply and allowing the surging connection to ease itself over his entire being, Hiro soared towards his falling Princess.

"Haah..."

Gasping out in pleasure as she felt the mental embrace of her darling hold onto her tightly, Zero Two's eyes shot open to witness the form of a beaming Strelizia closing in on her, it's hands welcomingly outstretched.

"Darling..."

A loving smile crossed her face as she stretched out her arms as well, in the form of an embrace towards Strelizia as it's boosters shut off, allowing natural gravity to have it match her speed of descent.

As the distance between her and Strelizia lessened to but a few meters of separation, it's hands came behind her in a soft and gentle manner. Slowly, surely and gently, it's interlaced hands moved ever closer, Hiro understanding better than anyone that he had to be careful with the laws of physics, lest he accidentally hurt or injure Zero Two in the process.

With every passing moment, Strelizia's hands removed another meter between them.

Finally, with a soft, painless thud, Zero Two felt her back touch and land on the steel palms of Strelizia, safe and secure in it's hands.

Raising herself in a standing position, Zero Two faced herself towards the cockpit of Strelizia, awaiting the moment of truth.

Feeling the breath hitch in his throat as she filled the entire screen of their main monitor, Hiro felt a warmth rest across his hand.

"Go get her. She's waiting for you."

Ichigo's eyes refused to meet his as she graciously admitted her defeat. The quivering of her lips being the only outward display of the torrent of emotions currently surging through her.

Nodding to her, Hiro gave her a comforting pat on her shoulders as he rose from his Stamen seat, grabbing the twin bands of platinum as he did so. Ichigo automatically shifted Strelizia into it's autopilot, where it continued to operate under minimum power conditions, controlling their descent into a slow and steady pace.

Flicking the switch that controlled the opening mechanism of the cockpit's hatch, Hiro hurried wiped his nose onto the sleeve of his Stamen suit. There was nothing he could do about his red, puffy eyes but he had more important issues at hand.

As the chest compartment of Strelizia raised open to reveal the cockpit's hatch, Zero Two forced a neutral expression on her face as she braced herself for the long awaited reunion between the both of them, current relationship issues not withstanding.

With the sounds of hissing air, the cockpit's hatch opened up to reveal its occupants.

* * *

"Code 016 has successfully retrieved Iota?"

Nine Alpha winced at Delta's furious voice over his communicator as he stood in the suiting pods aboard the transport plane.

"Just hang back and observe until they get into the cockpit. Any sudden moves and we risk Iota falling to her death. I'll be deploying soon."

Shutting off his communicator in frustration, Nine Alpha slammed a fist into the metal frame of the suiting pod.

* * *

The neutral expression on her face immediately broke as she noticed the blue horns and eyes that mirrored her own.

 _Darling is a beast like me now. I've... changed him._

Hot tears welled in her eyes as she realized the magnitude of their partnership. Unknowingly, she had corrupted him. Turning him into the very same half-breed hybrid as her, tainting his pure humanity in the process.

 _What have I done?_

Hiro's perceptive eyes tracked her gaze as Zero Two stared at the new protrusions on his forehead, before a sorrowful expression broke out on her face and tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Pushing past the urge to wallow in his guilt and self pity for his previous crime of infidelity as he laid his eyes on Zero Two, Hiro resolved himself to not fall into the trap of his own selfishness.

He had to push on.

He had to keep moving forward, he couldn't risk stopping now.

If he did, the fumes of his courage would fail him and his entire life would be spent returning to those moping days.

No matter what, Zero Two came first.

Her happiness was his happiness.

"Zero Two!"

Calling out to Zero Two to alert her towards the insane stunt he was about to pull, Hiro found himself mimicking her previous words.

 _With courage, anything is possible. Move forward. Don't stop._

 _Don't fail her again._

With his horns and eyes glowing blue once more, Hiro _jumped._

Even though they were at Papa knows how many thousands of feet in the air, in a controlled descent towards the earth, and that there was a gap between the cockpit and Strelizia's hands where Zero Two stood, he _jumped_ towards her.

With the twin bands of platinum in his hands, he _jumped._

Towards her.

The sight of the usually confident, outgoing and noisy girl going completely speechless as she frantically readjusted her location as she flung her arms open to catch him was a real feast for the eyes, Hiro noted.

 _Zero Two is kind of cute when she gets flustered too._

Screeching noises of panic poured forth from her throat as Zero Two followed his figure which loomed ever closer.

With the sound of hearty laughter, Hiro found himself landing into her embrace as the kinetic energy that he had gathered from his momentum pushed them into a twirling motion, which Zero Two couldn't help but follow through as she laughed along with him.

And thus they twirled in rounds, sharing their embrace as Hiro found himself lifted by the arms she had wrapped around his waist, Zero Two not being shy in the least as she utilized her superior physical strength.

Her touch, her scent and her voice along with the sensation of their hearts beating against each other.

Their chests pressing themselves so eagerly against the other's, as if they were communicating through their bodies the voices of their beating hearts.

And in rounds they continued to twirl.

He had horns now, and as such, it was possible for Hiro to finally fulfill his greatest desire when it came to Zero Two.

A horn battle.

Since her guard was down, Hiro performed the first strike, knocking his horns against hers.

"Yeowch!" her nose scrunched up in surprise, Hiro laughed at the shock in her eyes.

"Getting cocky just because you have horns as well, huh? I'll show you the difference in our experience." she growled at him.

 _Well, crap._

"Ouch!" he cried out, as Zero Two smacked him on each side with her horns.

Grumbling to himself, Hiro performed an immediate, tactical counterattack.

"Horn Kiss!"

Jabbing his horns onto her forehead, Zero Two winced her eyes at the poking sensation.

"Horn Strike! Take this!" Yelling out her made up name for the attack she had just invented, Zero Two panted out her threats as she nuzzled her horns into his head, giving him the klaxosaur equivalent of a noogie.

"Surrender! You have no hope of winning!"

Through his yelps of pain, Hiro signed his peace treaty.

"You win! I offer my unconditional surrender!"

As they both panted to regain their breath, their eyes locked on each other's, with the creeping sensation of guilt filling his body once more.

But for that moment where he had made Zero Two laugh, he was happy.

 _It's time._

It seemed that Zero Two felt the same way, as her expression became tinged with sorrow.

Sucking in the deepest breath he could, Hiro once more pushed forward, leaving the old passive self behind as he gazed into her eyes. His body was shaking from a mixture fear, guilt and shame. But he had to push on, it was either that or potentially losing Zero Two forever.

This time, this time, he wouldn't falter.

There was no other option, he had to endure the unendurable, even if she shamed him, even if she spat on him, he still had to keep trying.

For the rest of his life if he had to.

Even if he had to crawl over a path made of shattered tears, he would never stop chasing Zero Two.

He couldn't change the past, but he could change the future.

Their future.

Unfortunately, as his lips parted to begin one of the many apologies that he had prepared for their reunion, Hiro had underestimated just how much pain her attentive turquoise orbs could inflict upon him as he shared her gaze.

"I...I...I-I..."

The dam broke.

Hiro broke.

His courage, already long pushed to its breaking point, failed.

Now in a complete mess of tears and sobbing cries, Hiro utterly broke down as his voice emitted nothing remotely intelligible to the human ear. It was a repeating cycle of guilt and shame. The more shame he felt at breaking down in front of Zero Two, the harsher his wrecking sobs were, which fed into a feedback loop into the shame he had felt.

Feeling her eyes water from the pain her heart felt as she observed the wretched mass of shame and guilt self-destruct in front of her, Zero Two gingerly outstretched a hand towards him.

"D-Don't look at me!"

The sheer fright that was contained in his usual soft, gentle tone shocked her enough to retract her hand, clenching her shaking fist as she did so.

"Aren't you disgusted by me?"

His shaking voice, fit only for a broken tool masquerading as a human being, rang out as Hiro self-destructed under the enormous pressure he was experiencing.

"I cheated on you, you know."

Taking slow, steady steps towards him, her heart shattered as Zero Two noticed the involuntary flinch from his body as she approached him.

 _He's killing himself._

 _Darling is hurting._

She glanced over to the open cockpit of Hi-Filament Strelizia, where Ichigo had tears running down her cheeks, mouthing words towards her as she shook her head.

 _"Don't let him go."_

She was right, darling was trying his best.

He had chased after her in Strelizia, knowing the risks of going against APE's Special Forces.

He fought the entire Nines squadron while handicapping himself to avoid harming anyone, thus taking the high road.

He heard her voice somehow, even though she never spoke a word during her initial free fall from the transport plane, and rescued her with the hands of Strelizia.

He faced her head-on and placed himself to be judged by her, as difficult it must have been for him.

Ever since that day where he fell, darling made a conscious effort to choose every single correct decision, no matter the cost.

Exhaling to herself, Zero Two made her decision.

"Yes, you did."

A retching sound came forth from his body as Zero Two acknowledged his crimes.

In his hyperventilating stress, Hiro never noticed her wrapping her arms around him, warm, soothing strokes on his back as she rubbed it.

"And I took away your humanity from you. So we're even now."

Adding extra strength into her embrace as she felt him try to struggle free, Zero Two continued the back rubs, hoping to ease his hyperventilation.

"I... I messed-"

Feeling a hard grip force his gaze to lock onto hers, Zero Two's deadly serious eyes spoke of her conviction.

"It's going to take a while for me to trust you again, but killing yourself over it doesn't make me happy either."

"I don't deserve to be-"

Shushing him harshly with a hard press of her fingers on his lips, Zero Two placed her foot down.

"That's up for me to decide, it might take a while for me to forgive you, but eventually, I will." She stated. "Because no matter what, you are my darling. That hasn't changed in the slightest. All that's left is for you to forgive yourself."

Shuddering from the storm of emotions rolling through his body, Hiro asked,

"You mentioned about forgiveness. I know its pretty childish of me to ask but..." His voice trailed off.

"But?" She cocked her head in query.

"How long do you think it'll take?" He asked shyly, glancing away in embarrassment as he did so.

Make an exaggerated motion of scratching her chin in deep thought, Zero Two spoke the words that he would remember for the rest of his life, her tone filled with ease.

"Who knows? It might take my entire life for me to decide, so I guess you're gonna need to stick around to find out."

Hiro felt his entire body lock in place as he froze, his mind not trusting the information that his eyes provided him with. No matter how much his eyes visually processed the scene in front of him, his brain refused to comprehend it.

Zero Two had her left hand proffered towards him, a warm blush on her face.

"Hurry up, the wind is making my hair messy."

With shaking hands, Hiro thanked the stars above that the material of his Stamen suit gave him the friction needed to handle the platinum rings that the Doctor had passed onto him.

As his trembling hands picked up the band that once belonged to Karina Milsa, he moved forward to slide it onto her left ring finger.

Like a passing of a torch from a generation that sought forgiveness for their sins of sending out countless children to the battlefield, the platinum band would soon find itself with a new owner.

"Wait a second, don't rush it."

Hiro blinked, had he forgotten something important? An official witness perhaps?

 _Maybe Ichigo could be their... What was it called... Marriage Officiant?_

 _Was that how marriages even worked?_

A sigh broke through his frantic, panicking thoughts.

"Say something romantic before you put it on. Jeeze, I can't believe I'm getting married to someone as hopeless as you."

Well, that was sudden. He had to say something romantic? But his mind was frazzled blank from the entire days events.

"...Like what?" He asked blankly.

Zero Two fought the urge to facepalm at his confused look, cute as it was.

"Don't ask me! Make something up that sounds cool! That's what you're good at, right?"

Hiro blinked once more as he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"I love you, Zero Two. I want to be with you forever."

Zero Two made a sound of embarrassment as she felt her entire face flush with heat.

 _Stupid darling was way too dangerous to her heart with his honesty at times like this._

"I said something romantic, like a pledge or a promise! Why did you have to confess your love?" She squealed, as she covered her face in embarrassment with her other hand.

"But a love confession is romantic." He pointed out.

"That's such a classic darling answer. Shut up and put the ring on before I change my mind!" Zero Two demanded, childishly complaining as she did so.

With a gentle motion, the ring slid into place.

After an eternity of wishing, her Prince was finally hers.

With muted awe, Zero Two could only gaze upon the ring on her fingers with disbelieving eyes.

 _We're bound for life now. He actually did it._

 _He's my **Darling**_ _now._

 _I'm not his partner anymore._

Inhaling a deep breath as Zero Two came to terms with her new status, she found herself blushing at the idea.

 _I'm his wife._

"Now its my turn!" With a giggle, she grabbed the other platinum band from his hands.

With the largest, cheesiest grin ever plastered on her face, Zero Two teased him.

"Time to put out, Darling! You're hitched to me for life now!"

Shaking his head to release the heat that had filled his face from his noisy, pink-haired soon-to-be wife, Hiro proffered his left hand towards Zero Two, glancing away in embarrassment as he offered his future to her.

With a deep breath and a serious tone unlike her usual self, Zero Two stated her promise as the platinum band hovered near the tip of his ring finger.

"From the beginning of the day until the end of night, the first and last things I shall think of is you."

A breath pitched itself in his throat as Hiro felt the sensations of the band sliding to fit securely on the third joint of his ring finger.

"Till death do us part."

Her hands clutched at his as she spoke, turquoise eyes engraving herself into his very soul.

 _This is it._

 _I'm married now._

 _I fulfilled the promise from that day under the snowy tree._

 _Theres only one last thing to do._

Chewing on his lip as he allowed the happiness to flush itself inside his entire body, he shyly glanced towards Zero Two, who seemed to have gotten the hint he was giving out, judging from the nod she had responded with.

Entwining their hands together, Zero Two closed her eyes as she leant forward, tilting her head slightly sideways as she did so.

Mirroring her actions, he brushed against her lips. Gently pressing them together.

A chaste touch.

The tickling caress on his face as her long pink hair billowed in the wind.

Savoring the salty taste of their mutual tears flowing down their faces, Hiro embraced her tighter than ever.

The beating of their hearts synchronized as their chests molded against each other's.

The glowing horns of red and blue lit up as their minds formed a permanent and mutual bond.

 _Zero Two._

 _Darling._

 _Together, we are one._

 _Yup._

* * *

Hissing out at the pain that stabbed at her heart, Ichigo coughed into the palms of her hands as she watched them seal their marriage with a kiss.

The bright, sticky red substance made for a disgustingly compelling sight against the white of her Pistil suit.

Rubbing her fingers together in order to verify the viscosity of the red liquid, Ichigo could only allow a single tear to leak from her eyes.

"I'm happy for you two."


	19. Chapter 18

Noting the addition of the third vital sign inside Strelizia, the operator called out,

"We have a confirmed retrieval of Code 002! She's secure in the cockpit!"

Loud cheers rang out in the Command Center of Plantation 13 alongside with a smattering of applause. Even Werner couldn't help himself but nod approvingly. Turning towards the Strategic Officer of Plantation 13, he spoke.

"It's time then, shall we send out a transport plane to retrieve them?"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Hachi grimaced as he found himself the bearer of bad news.

"Not yet. The airspace in the combat zone is still contested."

Making a sound of disbelief, Nana found herself demanding him to offer a more detailed explanation.

"What do you mean, combat zone? Zero Two has been successfully retrieved! The operation is a success!"

Pulling up the tactical map and expanding it such that it filled the main display of the Command Center, Nana felt her heart sink as Hachi pointed out the red dots converging on their location.

"The Nines are surging forward to engage him."

* * *

"The layout is different..."

Amazement filled her voice as Zero Two hopped into the cockpit of Hi-Filament Strelizia in tandem with her darling, hands tightly interlaced with his as Ichigo brought the both of them as close as she possibly could.

Feeling the comforting warmth spread from their joined hands to the rest of his body flushing him with happiness, Hiro led Zero Two towards the Stamen seat.

"Yeah. The doctor really outdid himself this time."

Glancing down at Ichigo as she passed by her in the Pistil seat, noting the stains of dried tears that marred the pristine, fair skin of her cheeks as she did so, Zero Two comforted her.

"Thank you for bringing him back to me, Ichigo."

A stiff nod was her only reply.

Smiling to himself at the peace treaty between the two romantic rivals, Hiro seated himself in the Stamen seat, Zero Two latching onto his arm as she clung to his side. Hiro felt a warm blush splash against his face and tint his cheeks pink as he found himself lost into the teasing gaze of his wife, her soft fingers stroking the ring on his hand and causing his breath to hitch in his throat.

Noticing his cute reaction, Zero Two cheesed at him, her pearly whites dazzling him with it's beauty.

A flirty wink soon followed as she leaned closer, her eyes lidded and sultry.

Blushing at the sight presented before him, Hiro released the nervous tension in his body as best as he could, mirroring her motions and tilted his head, his lips parted.

"Hiro!"

Making a sound of surprise as Ichigo's voice snapped him awake, he turned towards her, his neck giving off a crick of protest as he did so.

"We're counting on you to bring us both home to Plantation 13."

Her serious voice filling him with resolve, Hiro nodded as he shouldered the responsibility now set upon him.

"Right!"

"Darling."

A squeezing motion on his hands along with her breathy voice notified him of Zero Two's call. Returning the squeeze and feeling his heart skip a beat at the pitched intake of breath from Zero Two when he did so, Hiro locked his gaze onto her as he spoke.

"I heard your voice in my mind, plain as day. That made me so happy."

Raising their interlaced hands to place them upon his chest, where the hammering of his heartbeats were felt by Zero Two as he continued, displaying without question the sincerity that he felt at the moment.

"Because you called out to me, I felt like I finally understood my reason for living. It's not a lofty, vague goal like piloting the Franxx or protecting everyone."

Flashing a sweet, pure smile towards her, Hiro made clear his newfound purpose.

"I want to be by your side forever, for the rest of my life. I can't imagine a day without you, Zero Two."

Zero Two's cheeks had the ability to match the color of her hair, it seemed. Hiro idyllically mused to himself as he enjoyed the honest reaction on her face.

"As do I." she confessed, shaking her head to clear the heat that gathered and dulled her mind as she did so. Raising her face to meet his, Zero Two admitted the truth.

"I missed you every moment that we were apart."

Taking his free hand into hers, Zero Two placed his other hand onto her chest, pressing down and allowing it to sink into her. Beneath her soft globes of fat, Hiro could feel the rapid heartbeats that matched his, allowing him to know that Zero Two felt the same way around him, nervous and lovestruck.

Nodding to her as he made a sound of happy acknowledgement, Hiro spoke,

"If what my heart tells me is the real thing, I feel like nothing is impossible for me right now."

Clenching their hands currently placed on each others chests, Zero Two letting out a gasp of pleasure as he did so, Hiro finished his speech.

"I'll bring you back home, no matter what. Just bear with it a little longer, okay?"

Making a face of surprise at the determination he displayed, Zero Two nodded as she smiled, tears leaking from her eyes.

"Yes!"

Closing her eyes for a moment to steady herself, Zero Two nodded as she blessed her darling to storm the battlefield.

"Then I shall leave it to you-"

A warm wetness pressed itself against his lips, a kiss that lacked tongue but wasn't chaste either. Arcing his back to press himself into the kiss, Hiro found a noise of complaint leaving his throat as Zero Two pulled away, a string of saliva connecting them for the longest time before it snapped in place.

"My beloved Darling."

Pressing his horns against hers to recharge his resolve, Hiro boosted them forward.

"I'll get us through this!"

The dual long boosters on their rear roared out as Strelizia shot out towards the approaching earth.

"Nngh...!"

Jerking back in shock as Zero Two made out a noise of pain, her body recoiling from the G-Forces without a Pistil suit to assist her, Hiro quickly apologized as he immediately reduced their current speed.

"Limiting maximum combat speed to 350 kilometers per hour. You can work with that, right, Hiro?"

With a flick on her console, the boosters on Strelizia wound down from a roar to a purr as Ichigo capped their top speed and acceleration to compensate for Zero Two's lack of a Pistil suit.

Noticing the strain evident in her voice, Zero Two appealed,

"Ichigo, let me pilot Strelizia! Your body can't take much more of this!"

With a shake of her head, Ichigo rejected her appeal.

"You can't, Zero Two. I understand your feelings of wanting to pilot with Hiro, but Strelizia isn't ready for you right now. It still requires too much fine tuning and adjustments for me to hand it over to you at the moment."

Reinforcing her statements, she waved her hands at the multitude of controls that now surrounded the Pistil seat.

"Besides, this thing is more complicated than it looks."

Sticking her tongue out at the joysticks on the Pistil seat, the multiple foot pedals and the console display brimming with information, Zero Two made a face as she concurred.

Sighing to herself, Ichigo groaned out loud towards Zero Two.

"I'll teach you how to operate it when we get back. In any case, our top priority now is to escape. Please leave this to Hiro and I."

Placing a placating hand on Zero Two's shoulders, Hiro reassured her of Ichigo's intentions.

"Zero Two, Ichigo isn't stealing Strelizia away from you. Right now, she's the only one with flight experience regarding the new control scheme. Once we get back safe and sound, Strelizia is all yours. It belongs to you, after all."

Puffing her cheeks out, Zero Two surrendered to the combination attack by the childhood friends. In return, Zero Two pacified herself by clinging on to his arm as tightly as she could, snuggling against him.

"Just don't forget you still owe me a honeymoon after this."

Giving her hair a quick, loving ruffle, Hiro agreed.

"We'll fly anywhere you want, with Strelizia."

* * *

Allowing the boys to brush past her carrying the supplies that they had used for their trip to the beach, Kokoro stopped in her tracks as she noticed a splatter of blood on the glass windows of the Parasite Lodge's entrance. Her eyes followed the trail to rest upon the owner of the liquid life force, now pathetically twitching and rolling besides a nearby bush, red staining it's feathers.

With a voice that caused Miku to pause beside her, she called out.

"It's bleeding."

The broken bird chirped at the sound of her voice, as if it was sending out a cry for help, it's left wing bent in an awkward shape.

"Poor thing."

Pity entered Miku's voice as she commented on the sight before her, a frown appearing on her face as she spoke. Twintails swayed as she shook her head, moving air as she did so. As she was about to comfort Kokoro over the distress she saw about to break out on her face, Miku found herself interrupted by a familiar drawl.

"Leave it be! A bird that can't fly is destined to die soon, anyways."

Upon hearing the heartless words spoken by her partner, Miku spun on her heel as she chided him for his lack of empathy.

"Either help out or go away, you idiot! Making comments like that isn't useful at all!"

With a quick undignified "Hmmph!" at her scolding, Zorome turned away and made for the Parasite Lodge, the crate of camping supplies still in his arms.

Turning back to Kokoro once more, Miku suggested,

"I'll go look for a twig, that way we can put a splint on his wing."

Nodding her approval at her suggestion, Kokoro waved Miku off as she took the wounded bird into her hands, tenderly stroking it as she did so.

* * *

Nine Delta's eyes ticked in frustration from her location on the roof of the transport plane. Strelizia had begun to escape them, it's wings extended behind it as it soared.

Zero Two was escaping back to that forsaken Plantation to continue playing house with that fake, Code 016.

With a snarl in her voice, she demanded orders from her squad leader.

"How much longer, Alpha!?"

The response that came through infuriated her to no end.

"I need seven more minutes to deploy."

Narrowing her eyes at his reply, Nine Delta kicked off from the roof of the transport plane, thrusters belching out orange flames behind her as she immediately moved to conduct a pursuit.

"Delta, wait! Beta and Gamma are arriving soon. Form up and we'll overwhelm him all at once."

"Screw that! He's still inexperienced, I can handle him on my own. Nine Delta, conducting pursuit of retreating hostiles!"

Switching off her intercom as she sped off, Nine Delta couldn't help but grin to herself when she noticed the slow speed they were moving at, allowing her to catch up with ease.

* * *

Crying out as she felt the sizzling tip of Nine Delta's Magma Lance barely graze their sides, Ichigo found herself snapping at Hiro.

"Dammit, Hiro! Can't you shake her off!?"

Using the controls to twist Strelizia once more to avoid another incoming stab, Hiro grimaced at the relentlessness of their pursuer.

"We can't outrun her, not without hurting Zero Two. So lets try to lose her in the terrain, like a canyon or a ridge if possible."

A quick squeeze on his hands informed him of her feelings, her voice downcast as she spoke.

"It's my fault for being such a burden..."

Without the aid of a Pistil suit to pharmacologically reduce the strain on her body from G resistance, nor its kinetic foam material lining to reduce the shock of impacts, they were forced to limit Strelizia's performance for her sake.

Turning back to add extra weight behind her next words, Ichigo pointed out the logical flaw in his 'plan'.

"These guys are combat pros. They aren't going to stop coming after us until they're either killed or disabled. Even if we successfully flee, they'll simply bring the battle to Plantation 13. All of our friends are there, they'll be dragged into this as well."

Taking sharp, rapid breaths of stress as Ichigo dismantled his ideals of ending their current engagement without needless bloodshed, Hiro panted out his reply.

"I know that! Believe me, I know that better than anyone! But what you're asking of me is to commit murder! I can't..."

Forcing Strelizia to descend towards the ground to land with a plume of dust blowing outwards, Ichigo faced them towards the single unit pursuing them.

Towards Nine Delta and her partner, Nine Epsilon.

"Line in the sand, Hiro. We have to stop her here-"

Slamming Strelizia's red heels down onto the ground, with the associated thundering sounds of impact, Ichigo relayed their current assignment.

"Prepare for combat."

Drawing the rifle that had been holstered on their backs the entire time, Ichigo levelled it's barrel at the Franxx that had landed opposite them. Overhead, the transport plane loomed, reminding Hiro of the most dangerous member of The Nines and his lingering presence.

The weight he felt in his hands couldn't seem anymore sickening if he had tried.

The squeezing pressure on his arms reminded him of the responsibility he currently shouldered. Ichigo was right, it wasn't just Zero Two anymore. He had a duty to ensure that everyone came out of this alive.

Including Nine Delta.

With a tap of the trigger, he fired.

* * *

Recoiling in shock at the explosion at her feet that showered dirt and dust all over her unit, Nine Delta snarled at his naivety.

"That idiot! He had a clean shot and he didn't take it?"

The warning shot that he had fired at her infuriated her to no end, even now he was trying to brush everything off?

What did he expect them to do after his insane stunt? To link hands and sing songs of friendship?

How childish.

Holstering the rifle once more on their back, Hiro called out to her, with Strelizia's arms spread out as a gesture of peace.

"Why are you even forcing a fight!? Just let us go and no one has to die here today!"

Crinkling her nose at the pleading tone in his voice, Nine Delta couldn't keep her expression from darkening as she spoke, harshly rejecting his idealistic nature.

"It's too late for that. Also, I owe you a debt of gratitude. Thanks to your insubordination, The Nines now have the excuse they need to limit Zero Two's freedom. Even the Doctor won't be able to shelter her from something of this magnitude."

Glaring at him, she continued.

"Just give it up already! Or else I'll have to smash your cockpit and drag you out of there myself!"

Refusing to accept her escalation, Hiro pressed on, rejecting her statements as he did so.

"You can't! There's enough sadness and hate in this world as it is, just let Zero Two have her happiness!"

Ichigo muttered to herself, bitterness lacing her voice at Hiro's desperate efforts to reach out to Nine Delta.

"You're just wasting your time..."

Gritting her teeth as she felt the beginnings of a headache form at the ridiculousness of his words, Nine Delta ignited her Magma Lance, it's orange tip lighting up and sizzling in the air as Hiro continued his pleading.

"Stop it! If we keep fighting, the cycle of hatred will continue! Our hearts will break down and we'll lose what makes us human!"

Fury bubbled within Nine Delta as his words reached her ears, with a tone so harsh it caused Hiro to flinch, she screamed.

"Shut your mouth! You insolent fool! What do you know about fighting and hatred? Idling away, safe and sound as you were in a rear sector. When we, The Nines were Papa's most faithful! We had to stain our hands with the red blood of humans, not just the blue of klaxosaurs! I even had to butcher Parasites who were wavering in their faith and live out my days with their screams in my head-!"

Hiro's eyes widened at the revelation of APE's darkest secrets before him.

"Your precious happiness with Zero Two can go to hell for all I care! My hatred runs too deep for something as lofty as 'happiness' to dispel it!"

Rearing the Magma Lance in her hands, Nine Delta screamed herself hoarse as she flung the lance towards them. Hiro cringing at the whistling sounds of doom it made as it cut through the air.

"Now roll over and die!"

Frustrated at Hiro's inactivity as he stared in frozen shock at the incoming projectile, Ichigo snarled as she slammed on the thrusters, boosting them upwards to avoid their impalement.

"Hiro!"

Turning his gaze to fall upon her, Hiro spoke, desperation tainting his voice.

"Ichigo! If we don't stop her soon, the rest of The Nines will arrive and we'll be outnumbered-"

Feeling her heart sink at the frantic look in his eyes, Ichigo tried to reassure him.

"I understand what you're going through right now, but nothing we'll say will change Delta's mind. We have to eliminate her."

Astonished at her coldness, Hiro shook his head once more.

"Strelizia isn't a heartless killing machine! Brute force won't solve anything! She's just enslaved and indoctrinated, that's all! Delta just stopped questioning her situation like I did back then, it's not the real her!"

With the dual long boosters on their rear roaring as he charged, Hiro declared.

"I will stop her!"

As the distance between the two Franxx closed, Ichigo could only mutter to herself, cynical bitterness tainting her voice, inaudible to anyone except for Zero Two and her enhanced hearing.

"You're right, she is enslaved. By a broken system perpetuated by APE and the Yellow Blood Cells that courses through our veins."

Using the shield to deflect and parry the stab by her Magma Lance, now crashing against the ground, sending plumes of dust outwards as he disarmed her, Hiro grabbed the wrists of her Franxx. Fighting to keep her resisting unit controlled, Hiro poured every bit of sincerity in his voice as he pleaded directly with Nine Delta, their machines now no less than a few meters apart, locked in a physical struggle.

"Please listen, Delta!"

Canines flared as she jerked against the controls on Epsilon's Pistil suit, trying as she was to overpower the white and red Franxx before her.

"Is this what you really want? Is this what the real you wants!? Not Nine Delta, the Parasite of APE... But Nine Delta, the person!"

Her grip slackened on the controls as her traitorous mind processed his words, depicting a world that went beyond piloting Franxx. Where she had a purpose beyond being a cog in the machine called APE.

Snarling at the pilot of Strelizia who had induced his Stamen into temporary inaction, Nine Epsilon snapped at her as he continued struggling against Strelizia's grip.

"Snap out of it, Delta! He's just trying to trick you! Remember Papa, the one we swore an oath to serve!"

Nine Delta blinked as she felt her entire world shrink on her, Hiro's voice reaching out to her.

"Delta!" Hiro cried out.

A tear welled up in her forest green eyes as it threatened to spill out and trickle down her face.

"But... This is all I have. Piloting Franxx... Serving Papa... I don't have anything else to live for-"

Her voice cracked as she blinked the tears away from her eyes.

"I don't even...I don't even have a name like you."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Nine Delta raised her head in sorrow as she admitted her deepest insecurities.

 _Deep down, she was jealous of the fact that Zero Two alone possessed a unique name among them._

 _That she had managed to break free of their cage, and carry within herself the courage to defy Papa.  
_

 _She was but a mere cog in a machine, built to serve APE and Papa._

 _Nothing other than Papa existed in her life._

His voice rang out, clear as day, encouraging in it's tone as he urged her to look beyond her past.

"Then find something to live for! It's too sad to live for nothing but hate and anger. I used to think that my mission in life was to play whatever role Papa demanded of me, but that's not true at all!"

With every word he spoke, she felt the stabbing pain in her heart increase, along with her headache. How could he find the strength within himself to say such treasonous words? Why wasn't he of the same obedient stock like every other Stamen?

Wincing at the throbbing pain in her head, Nine Delta countered as she desperately tried once more to shake off Strelizia's grip on her machine.

"Look around you! There's nothing to live for in this broken, dying planet! The only thing that awaits us Parasites at the end is death, the only question being which sortie would be our last. In a screwed up reality like this, it's only normal for us Parasites to find comfort in someone like Papa!"

"Even so!-"

His voice rang out,

"I want to believe, if we hold on tight to our dreams, if we never give up, if we never become closed-minded... I know that a chance will come. To find a happy ending, for each and every one of us."

Zero Two's eyes widened at the words he spoke, calling back to the conversation they shared during the Kissing Operation.

With his eyes and horns glowing blue, Hiro declared.

"Because this is proof of the possibilities that exist within the human heart!"

A blinding flash of light shone forth from Strelizia's blue horn on it's head as it lit up in blue, dazzling in it's brightness. With a forceful motion, Hiro knocked Strelizia's horns onto the Franxx it was restraining, sounds of ringing steel echoing out as Strelizia's horn crashed against the head module of the opposing machine.

Jerking forward from the shock and pain, disbelief leaked out from his voice as Nine Epsilon as he called out.

"The hell is he doing...?"

Opening his heart, Hiro put his faith into the same ability that had allowed his mind to pick up Zero Two's thoughts earlier during her freefall. As he exhaled, Hiro reached out with his hands, searching for any possible way he could pass on his feelings to Delta.

With a stirring within him, Hiro followed his instincts. His mind was so focused on his task such that Hiro did not even recognize the worried shaking of Zero Two as she tried to break him out of his trance.

Nine Delta froze in her Stamen seat as she saw his blue-skinned, ethereal form approach her, horns and all. Recoiling in fear and disgust, she screamed out, clawing the air as she did so.

"Stay away from me!"

Frantically switching his gaze between his breaking down partner and the image of Strelizia displayed on the main screen, Nine Epsilon panicked.

"What's happening?! Delta...! Delta...!"

"Don't come into my mind!" she shrieked.

Orange, ethereal horns appeared on her even as Delta screamed her rejection, her body's genetic makeup betraying her as it made the mental connection.

Angered at the distress coming from his partner, Nine Epsilon snarled as he poured every ounce of strength he had into breaking out from Strelizia's hold upon them.

Gently turning the hyperventilating Pistil's face towards him, forcing her to lock gazes onto him as he did so, Hiro calmed her.

"These inky, black clouds that surround you... There's no point in allowing it to dictate your life."

Staring at the blue horns that framed his head, Nine Delta felt a fresh wave of revulsion fill her body as she matched his horns with the ones owned by Zero Two. Grabbing the wrists of the ethereal form before her and pushing him away with a hard shove, she rejected his attempt at breaking through to her.

A cry of pain left Hiro as he was violently shoved against the Stamen seat from the feedback of Delta's rejection, clutching his chest as he did so. His body twisting and turning as Hiro tried to cope with the stabbing pains in his heart from such a forceful rejection.

At the sight of that, Zero Two's worry grew.

"I don't know what you're doing, but let my darling go! Delta!"

Panting out from shock, Hiro pleaded, his hands reaching outwards towards her.

"Don't let the anger and hatred consume you, Delta!"

Breathing harshly as she slumped over in her position on the Stamen seat, Nine Delta spoke, her tone carrying such bitterness it made Hiro wince.

"Artificially created children like us are always consumed by their creator's wishes. My way of life isn't wrong!"

Shaking his head at her faulty logic, Hiro appealed to her.

"That's not a wish! It's a curse!"

Pearly whites revealed themselves as Nine Delta bared her canines, her voice rising in it's intensity.

"It's the same thing! You're supposed to carry out what was entrusted to you! That's our duty as Parasites bound by a blood oath to Papa who gave us life!"

Her voice reaching it's peak, Nine Delta snarled out the perceived hypocrisy she saw within him.

"And you're one to talk-!"

Flinching at her accusing tone, Hiro couldn't suppress the shivers of stress that ran through his body as she screamed, wrinkles forming on his cheeks from his grimace.

"You, who merely happened to come across your current hybrid form and powers through sheer circumstance from piloting with Zero Two! What do you know about us, who were nothing more than her cloned backups!?"

"...Clon-" Zero Two mumbled, her brain failing to process the impact of her statement.

"Clones...?" The other two pilots in Strelizia's cockpit finished for her.

Reeling back, Nine Delta screamed, her voice echoing throughout the battlefield.

"That's right! So get out of my way-!"

A knee rose and impacted against Strelizia's midsection, causing Ichigo to jerk forward, bits of red liquid flying out from her lips to stain the purity of her white Pistil suit.

"SISTER!"

Immediately boosting them backwards into the sky, concern flooded his mind as he heard the racking coughs coming from Ichigo.

"You...see now? You've tried your best so... Lets just shoot her and make a break for it."

Wiping her mouth on her sleeve, Ichigo continued.

"I'll raise the rifle's output to the maximum. We'll close in and get her with one clean shot. Hiro-"

Her hard voice made him wince at it's frost.

"I'll pull the trigger, I'll take responsibility for it."

As they circled around the lumbering Franxx, who had just retrieved their Magma Lance from the ground, Hiro felt hesitation entering his voice.

"Ichigo..."

Her patience running thin from the circus she had to endure to get here, Ichigo found herself snapping at Hiro.

"Do it! Do you want to bring Zero Two home or not!?"

Stiffly nodding as Hiro felt the tears well up in his eyes, he glanced at the Franxx that aimlessly paced in their general direction, it's Magma Lance held slack against it's sides.

"Glory to Papa... Glory to Papa... Glory to Papa..." Her dazed mumbling repeated itself as Nine Delta blankly gazed at the white and red maiden of steel circling around her.

Hiro couldn't suppress the cringe borne out of stress as he listened to Delta repeat herself in a daze, a deep frown etched on his face.

"Glory to Papa... Glory to Papa..."

In an desperate attempt to shake Delta out of her daze, Hiro aimed Strelizia's right arm at the now immobile Franxx standing stock-still, her voice still repeating itself without pause. The machine gun on it's right forearm revealed itself from it's coverings as the chattering of high-caliber shells came to life. Dust and dirt splattered all over Nine Delta's Franxx as the warning shots kicked up the soil around it.

With a sharp snapping of it's neck, it locked gazes onto the attacker who had just unloaded on them. The Magma Lance came to life as it powered up with it's magma fuel, it's telltale orange lighting up it's tip.

"Delta! Please come back to your senses!" He begged.

Unleashing her frustration, Ichigo snapped at him once more.

"Give it up, already! She's too far gone for that!"

With a final, pitched scream, Nine Delta charged at them, Magma Lance levelled and pointed to kill.

"GLORY TO PAPA!"

Pushing them forward with the ignition of their boosters, Strelizia countercharged, rifle aimed towards her.

A warm, reassuring squeeze on his right hand told him he wasn't alone.

"Whatever happens from here on out, darling tried his best. So don't blame yourself."

His shaking voice called out to Ichigo as she aligned the lock-on to guarantee a hit.

"Ichigo... we shouldn't-"

Her furious voice cut him off and made him flinch at it's tone.

"And what!? You'll place your bets on Delta coming to her senses right at the very end!? That's risking all of our lives on a mere possibility!"

Twitching ticks formed on his eyes as Hiro felt the pressure mount on him, the distance between the two Franxx shortening with every second. With a resigned sigh, Ichigo comforted him.

"Just close your eyes, Hiro. I'll do it."

As the grip on his arm tightened from Zero Two's reassurance that she was at his side until the very end, squeezing his eyes shut-

Hiro screamed his lungs out.

 _Her crying visage as she admitted that she knew nothing of a life outside APE and Papa.  
_

Through his closed eyes, Hiro heard Ichigo let out a deep exhale. Indicating the very final moments as she mentally steadied herself, preparing to take Nine Delta's life.

 _"_ _I don't even have a name like you."_

His mind recalled at how her sorrowful voice whispered, returning to the conversation they had just moments before.

"DON'T SHOOT!"

Snapping his eyes open, Hiro made a sharp tilt to Strelizia as Ichigo fired, the orange beam of magma energy going wide and missing it's mark.

With a snarl on her face, Ichigo brought up their shield just in time to protect them from the now unavoidable impact. Crashing sounds of steel rang out as both Franxx slammed into each other, Nine Delta's Magma Lance leaving a deep, ugly gash that left charred scorch marks on their shield.

Clutching her body from the pain of the impact, Ichigo found herself hissing away the tears of agony that had gathered in her eyes.

As he executed an emergency roll on the ground to avoid them sharing the same fate of the other machine that suffered the impact, who laid on the ground in a crumpled heap, it's faceplate deactivated, Hiro found himself staring at the rain of exploding debris falling towards the Earth, his jaw dropping at his insanity.

"You just doomed your own allies onboard that transport plane!" His horrified voice spoke, as he watched the dots scatter, the human bodies of the transport plane being flung out as if they were specks of black snow against the blue sky.

Nine Alpha had sliced his way out of the transport plane's fuselage with his Franxx, causing multiple explosions to rock throughout the transport plane until one of them had found it's fuel storage, setting the entire thing alight in a flaming fireball.

"Who gives a damn about the lives of insects like them? The crew onboard the transport were nothing more than expendable resources!"

Spiraling down towards them, his Magma Lance ignited and ready, Nine Alpha grinned.

Through their shared synchronization bond, a secondary ripple of tension rolled over him. It seemed that Ichigo was sharing the same feelings as he did.

And for good reason, because-

APE's number one pilot was on the field, and judging from how the red slits that passed for eyes glowed on it's faceplate...

He was out for their blood.

* * *

"Prepare for anti-air combat! Hiro, intercept him!"

Blinking away his shock at the new entrant in the battlefield, Hiro nodded at her orders. Scrolling through the display of her console, Ichigo selected the Twin Long Cannons from her Weapons Control System.

Racking sounds rang through their hull as the rear mounted Twin Long Cannons depressed themselves to lock into it's firing position on Strelizia's shoulders.

With a quick snap, Hiro relayed his needs to his Pistil.

"Load high explosive, proximity fuse!"

A chunky thump sounded off as the shells slid into their breeches, the cycling process reassuring in a way. They were preparing to deliver their munitions at the fastest possible continuous pace, unlike Delta, who seemed to carry a soft spot for him, Hiro had no illusions of his chances of a deescalation with Nine Alpha.

Nothing less than a full barrage would suffice for a pilot of his caliber.

"Munitions, up!" Ichigo called out. "Target, 6500 meters out and closing fast!"

The belching orange flames poured forth from the boosters of the opposing Franxx, leaving smoke trails through the bright, blue skies of the late morning. With the grace and elegance that spoke of his skill at piloting, the airborne machine weaved and ducked as it made its approach. Even from within the separation provided by the distance and the cockpit of their machines, Hiro could sense the arrogance that radiated off from his form.

"He's coming within cannon range in 27 seconds. Hiro, get ready! I'll assist with the targeting."

This was it, Hiro exhaled. The final boss of his trial, so to speak.

APE's final solution to any stubborn problem on the battlefield that refused to roll over and die for them.

Nine Alpha.

The clicking sounds and the flashing red lights of a successful lock-on brought Hiro back from his pondering, with a squeeze of his controls, the Twin Long Cannons fired. The world around them shook as Strelizia compensated for the recoil, it's red heels sinking into the brown soil of the ground. Loud sounds of impact were heard as the shell casings crashed onto the ground besides them.

The whistling sounds of traveling munitions cut through the air as they shot out, speeding towards the weaving Franxx that casually added twirls to it's motions, speaking of the confidence that it's pilots possessed.

When the high explosive shells had neared it's target, they exploded, black smoke blooming forth in a massive cloud. As Nine Alpha's Franxx shot out sideways from the black cloud, boosters active in it's wake, Hiro found himself cursing under his breath.

"Shot, wide! Target has not been reduced! Adjustment to follow, left 50! " Ichigo announced.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Hiro focused once more, his vision tunneling on the acrobatic Franxx currently growing steadying larger on their main display.

"Gotta calm down." he breathed.

Slamming Strelizia's heels onto the ground once more to reassure himself as another set of shells loaded themselves in the Twin Long Cannons, Hiro made the compensations that Ichigo had fed him. With Nine Alpha now only five kilometers away and closing, Hiro steadied himself as he followed Ichigo's tracking.

When the flash of red lit up his screen once more, Hiro squeezed.

Another roar came forth as the shells left their barrels, sharp whistling sounds filling the air as the rounds flew. Another set of impacts announced the crashing of the casings that had landed on the ground besides them.

The flash of an explosion lit up the sky, Hiro praying with all his heart that he had at least managed to disable or even scrape against his Franxx. But as his eyes betrayed him with the sight of Nine Alpha bursting out once more from the black cloud, Hiro felt his heart sink. A pitched intake of breath beside him notifying him of Zero Two's current feelings of tension.

"It's fine!"

Snapping his head towards the calm voice of his Pistil, Ichigo continued.

"I'm better at shooting combat anyways. Hiro, hand over the controls. I'll personally get him for you."

With just three kilometers separating them from Nine Alpha, Hiro mutely nodded as he allowed Ichigo to take the controls. A quick input on her display allowed her to load their second munition type into the Twin Long Cannons.

"Loading, HVAP rounds." she announced, glaring at the white and red knockoff of Strelizia that approached them as she did so. "I'll slice you in half with a direct hit, Nine Alpha."

It was a promise she intended to keep.

Narrowing her eyes at the weaving Franxx, mocking them with it's graceful twirls and bobs as it soared, Ichigo smiled.

Because Nine Alpha was about to get a rude awakening. For Hiro's speciality laid in close combat, his other pilot stats were mediocre to average at best. She was different however, for she spent considerable efforts to perform as an reliable all rounder, with no specific weakness in any field.

If Nine Alpha thought they were done just yet, he was dead wrong, for Ichigo had a final trick up her sleeve.

It was obvious in hindsight, to be honest. If Hiro as a pilot specialized in close combat, there was an obvious dilemma of even getting him close enough for his dominance in that particular field of warfare to display itself.

And that was where she came in, a Pistil who was an natural jack of all trades, with a slight focus on evasion and ranged combat skills.

Her skill set was made to compliment his, after all.

She assisted him in maneuvering their Franxx to close in, and sat back relaxing as she watched Hiro tear them apart in melee combat.

After all, a lot of people tended to forget that her piloting code was lower than even Hiro's, for good reason.

A fact that she took great pride in.

Switching off the aim assist, Ichigo exhaled as she watched Nine Alpha's movements become erratic. With a click of her tongue upon identifying his movements, Ichigo frowned.

 _He's smart. Adding random variability and feints to his movements as he closed in, fully recognizing that the travel time of projectiles would be decrease as the distance shortened._

 _Nine Alpha truly is APE's best pilot, his brain matching his brawn._

"Ichigo, shoot him! He's getting closer!" Hiro worried.

 _Not yet._

She needed to lure him closer to maximize their chances of a hit. They had only one chance at this distance, there wouldn't be enough time for another shot. And thus, she had to make it count.

As her targeting crosshair followed the boost dodges he was throwing in as he brought his Magma Lance to bear, Ichigo cleared her mind, erasing all distractions from the outside world as she did so.

 _Focus._

Her forest green eyes sharpened as Ichigo ignored the urging calls from the duo behind as they urged her to fire. Distantly, she could start to trace the smoke trails that Nine Alpha left in his wake from the boosters, her mind creating a series of afterimages as she did so.

 _A pilot, no matter how skilled, is still a slave to the laws of physics._

A delighted grin formed on her face as she pieced together the gap in his defenses. Her mind formulating a plan to finally smash the stuck up blonde jerk's ego to pieces.

 _There's a delay between his boost dodges. He's most vulnerable when he reaches the end of a boost dodge, it takes him a split second to boost dodge away in another direction._

 _I'm sure Nine Alpha knows it as well, which is why he honed himself until he had managed to reduce the delay of executing successive dodges down to a fraction of a second._

 _But..._

The smile on her face widened until laugh lines started to form as she gleefully realized,

 _In that single moment, Nine Alpha is defenseless._

The last kilometer of distance separating them was crossed.

"Ichigo!" Zero Two cried out.

 _Just a little bit closer._

Seven hundred meters.

"Ichigo!"

It seemed it was now Hiro's turn to call out for her, urgency filling in his voice. Shaking her head at his lack of trust, Ichigo continued waiting, her breath held in her throat.

Five hundred meters.

With the opposing Franxx so close that it filled the entirety of their main display, Ichigo steadied herself as she tracked Nine Alpha's final leftwards boost dodge.

As it reached the end of it's traveling distance, Ichigo couldn't help herself but grin as she fired. Twin Long Cannons roared over their shoulders as they spat out their tungsten slugs at a supersonic speed, the thundering cracks proof of it's breaking of the sound barrier, the rounds truly living up to their namesake of High Velocity.

 _Game over._

 _I've beaten APE's number one pilot._

"Did you think it was going to be that easy, you fool!"

His mocking laughter rang out as a dumbstruck expression filled her face at the sight before her. With it's Magma Lance moving so fast that it turned into an orange blur, Ichigo's brain failed to process the illogical insanity that presented itself before her.

With a tiny, high-pitched sound, Nine Alpha had parried the solid slugs of tungsten.

 _Impossible..._

 _That was completely..._

 _Im_ _possible..._

As her eyes followed the now useless rounds sail away from his frame, Ichigo could only stare in muted shock at the wrist mounted launcher he pointed at them, mumbling in a daze as she watched it fire a small, sticky projectile towards them.

"CIWS... Shoot... Shoot it down..." her dazed voice mumbled.

Jerking awake at the sound of her voice, the machine gun hidden in Strelizia's right forearm roared to life as it revealed itself, the loud chattering of high caliber shells firing off as Hiro sprayed out a wild burst in a desperate attempt at shooting down the projectile currently heading towards them.

The solid shells went into a wide arc as every single one of them missed the projectile in flight, Hiro's panic not helping his aim at all. Attaching itself to Strelizia's chest, the sticky bomb unleashed a EMP pulse, electromagnetic current washing over Strelizia. The rolling waves of current sending Ichigo's body into a twitching fit as entire systems short-circuited and powered down, Strelizia's faceplate deactivating.

Wiping the blood that was now flowing down a side of her face as she steadied herself from the sneak attack, Ichigo's rapid breathing rang out as she desperately pleaded, fingers running over the blank display of her console.

"We came so far! Not now! Please don't reject us, Strelizia!" She cried out.

Frantic pleading continued as Ichigo desperately tried to restart Strelizia, repeating the startup process each time, her voice rising with every failed attempt.

"Seems like you've got this all covered, Alpha. We just about done here?"

The voice of Nine Beta rang out as two additional machines, the knockoff Strelizias used by The Nines, landed and surrounded them. Flanked by Beta and Gamma, with Nine Alpha directly facing him, Hiro felt the noose tighten around his neck. Delta was still crumpled against the ground, her machine deactivated, but that didn't count for much considering the odds that now faced them.

A wave of sorrow filled his heart as he felt Zero Two burying her face into his neck, her ragged breathing revealing the emotional state that she was in. Sharing her feelings, Hiro shuddered at the situation they found themselves in, surrounded by The Nines in a disabled machine, powerless as they awaited their end in the darkness of the cockpit.

As his gaze fell upon Ichigo's frantic form as she hopelessly tried to restart Strelizia, Hiro resolved to play his final card.

Pulling away from Zero Two's warm embrace, giving her a final nuzzle into her hair as he did so, he rose from his seat. Feeling his heart ache at the whimpering sound that she gave off as he peeled away from her, Hiro flipped the switch that controlled the cockpit's hatch.

With the hissing sounds of depressurizing air, morning sunlight pierced through the darkness and lit up their world. Fresh, sun-warmed air kissed at their skin, it's touch refreshing and enjoyable.

"Are you crazy, Hiro!?"

As she watched him brush past her to step out onto the ledge provided by the lowered cockpit's hatch, though clenched teeth, Ichigo hissed her disapproval.

With his hair blowing in the wind, it's strands dancing around and tickling his face, Hiro spoke with The Nines.

* * *

Ignoring the queries coming from Hachi's form as he questioned the operator, his body hunched over as he squinted at the status update displayed on the screens, Nana's hard gaze turned towards the frowning elder besides her.

"I distinctively remember the blueprints for Hi-Filament Strelizia including electromagnetic shielding in it's design." she accused.

A frustrated sigh released itself from his lungs, Werner pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt the beginnings of a headache form.

"Like I said... We might have been a little rushed in it's deployment."

Letting out a derisive snort, Nana quipped.

"Well, I hope when the time comes, I don't have to share a cell with you two. Papa is going to have our heads for this."

The headache increased in it's intensity, infuriating him with it's distraction. Massaging his temples, Werner snapped at his assistant, his voice rising as he did so.

"Like I said, it won't come to that! Just... Just have some faith, Nana. That boy will come through for us, he's always have."

Grimacing at the frustration evident in his voice, she whispered.

"Faith... huh?"

Staring at the large screen of the Command Center as it displayed her charges surrounded by The Nines, along with Strelizia's blank, deactivated faceplate, she prayed.

* * *

"You guys just want Zero Two to return to The Nines, right?"

Calling out to the Franxx that surrounded him, Hiro's voice rang out loud and clear in the still air of the battlefield. The silence following his words filling Hiro with tension, as every set of red, gleaming eyes set itself upon him. Pressure mounted and stroked the nervousness he felt stirring in his stomach, Hiro gulping the lump that had formed in his throat as he pushed on.

Raising his voice, he pressed the machine that stood directly opposing him.

"In that case, lets negotiate her return! Nine Alpha!"

Clenching his fists, Hiro yelled out his request. Wincing at the cacophony of mocking laughter that followed as The Nines jeered at him, Hiro fixed his eyes forward, resolving himself to endure anything for Zero Two's sake.

He would not back down. Never again would he allow Zero Two to be separated from his side.

 _Even if he had to join The Nines to stay by her side, he would._

On the sidelines, the crumpled form of Nine Delta's Franxx twitched.

As the mocking jeers and laughter died down, the amused voice of Nine Alpha came through, drawling in its delivery.

"Hoooo? Didn't anyone teach you, Mr Imitation Hybrid?" He laughed, teeth bared in hostility as he continued his mocking. "That you cannot negotiate with a predator, when your head is in it's jaws."

He took a step forward as he raised his Magma Lance, it's orange tip lighting up as it activated.

"And right now-"

Rearing the throwing arm of his Franxx back, Nine Alpha sneered.

"I am the predator, and you are-"

Hurling the Magma Lance with as much force as he could, Nine Alpha screamed his fury at the boy who was a splitting image of his accursed squad mate, his horns and eyes dyed blue to her red.

"THE PREY!"

Tears welled in Hiro's eyes as the shockwave of the Magma Lance slamming itself into the ground in front of Strelizia knocked him backwards. Drops of liquid sorrow were flung into the air as Hiro numbly reached out towards the closing hatch, Zero Two's arms embracing him from behind and catching his fall.

As if to hammer home his failure, the voice of Nine Alpha penetrated their cockpit, his joyous malice evident.

"Feel free to smash anything but the cockpit! Do it!" He hollered.

With the sounds of sniffling, Hiro felt warmth splash onto his arms as Zero Two lifted him onto his place at the Stamen seat. Pressing his face into his palms, the mounting stress of his failure building within him, Hiro glanced towards his Pistil-

Towards Ichigo, if she had any last minute plans she could offer him.

From the waves resignation that rolled off her slumped figure as she slouched in her seat, with a sinking feeling in his heart, Hiro already knew the truth.

With her bangs casting shadows over her face, Ichigo broke his heart as she spoke.

"You can't fight reality."

The sheer bitterness that tainted her voice made his avert his gaze as sickness filled his being. Ichigo's words hitting closer to home than he would have liked.

"No matter how much we want for something, the fact remains that desire just isn't enough to beat fate."

Flickering her downcast eyes towards the couple on the Stamen seat, Ichigo spoke forth the words that damned them all.

"I would know that better than anyone, myself."

Tugging motions on his arm brought his attention towards the smiling face by his side, Hiro feeling his heart shatter into tiny pieces as he recognized the gentle smile on Zero Two's face.

With a painful warmth that crushed his heart, Zero Two patted his hands as she reassured him.

"Its alright, darling. Your feelings came through to me." Tears rolled down her eyes as she spoke. "You were there when I called out to you, and you tried your best until the very end for me."

Swallowing the overflowing sorrow that leaked from her beautiful turquoise eyes, Zero Two flashed the purest smile she could towards him.

"I will never forget you."

.

.

.

At that very moment, a part of his mind broke, never to return.

Exhaling into his palms, Hiro visualized The Nines as their machines surrounded him, their shadows casting over Strelizia as they approached. Their hands reaching out to take her away from him.

 _Just like how it had been when he tried to protect **** *** from the faceless guards._

A high-pitched ringing sound filled his ears as it washed out all the noise of the outside world.

 ** _"*******!"_**

Static began to creep into his vision as it flickered, grey began to bleed into what had previously had been a colored world.

 ** _"** **!"_**

From the intense stabbing pains that pierced his mind, cracks began to form in his reality, as his brain tore itself apart at the memory bleed it was experiencing.

Distantly, the shrill cry of the Jians called.

With his pupils dilated and unseeing, Hiro answered.

* * *

A shrill scream filled the hallways.

Jerking his head at the piercing cry of pain, Hiro ran towards the source, down the endless hallways of Garden.

As the screams grew louder, Hiro could only put his hands over his mouth, fighting the urge to retch at the sight behind the glass window panel as it presented itself towards him.

There, strapped to a operating table, naked and filthy, was a red-skinned beast child surrounded by the faceless medical staff of Garden. With wide, quivering eyes, Hiro could only watch as a medical laser moved over her palms.

With a flick of a switch, the medical laser powered up, searing a large hole into the flesh of the beast child. Her screams began once more as she shrieked in pain, the bindings rattling as she fought against them.

"Stop it! Stop hurting her!"

Banging his fists on the glass, Hiro screamed. The glass rattled but did no more, no matter how much force he put into his fists pounding on them.

Looking around him for a solid object to break the window with, his eyes rested on a familiar figure for the second time.

"Don't just stand there! Help me rescue her!"

He snapped towards the child wearing a fur-lined coat, his childhood self merely observing him with his hands in the pockets of the coat.

"I tried."

Frowning at his reply, Hiro snapped at him.

"What do you mean, 'you tried'?"

A sigh released itself from his childhood self, as he moved to his side, his hands gripping the wrists of his Stamen suit as he did so.

"These are all just our memories. You might not remember, but you were here, once."

Tugging at him to follow, the child motioned.

"Come, take a walk with me."

Allowing himself to be led by his younger self, Hiro kept silent as they walked down the twisting bowels of Garden's hallways. The only sound between the both of them being the pattering of footsteps. In the background, the screams of the beast child were getting softer as they progressed.

Clearing his throat, he spoke up.

"Is it fine to just leave her there...? She's in pain."

A frown marred his boyish looks as he replied.

"It's just a memory, she's not really there anymore. Come, follow me. There's somewhere we need to go."

Pushing open the double doors that led into the outside world from Garden, Hiro flinched at the freezing wind that washed over his face, chilling him to the bone. With a finger, his childhood self pointed towards a pair of footsteps that trailed off into the snow.

"Hurry! We can't stay here for long."

Nodding his acknowledgement, Hiro knelt down to allow his childhood self to climb onto his back. With his longer legs and more developed physique, giving a piggyback ride to his younger self was the only way to have him keep up.

Hurrying after the trail before him, kicking up snow as he ran, Hiro rushed towards the forest, where he and Zero Two had once made their promise.

* * *

"There you go... All better!"

Giving the bird a quick pet, Miku couldn't help but allow a smile to grace her lips as she watched Kokoro splint it's wounded wing. With her hands still on her knees as she bent over to observe the process, she turned towards the kneeling ashen-blonde besides her.

"Nice work, Kokoro! You've always been the best of us when it came to taking care of others!"

Shaking her head in embarrassment as a blush overtook her cheeks at the compliment, Kokoro refuted her words.

"It's nothing, really. But, I don't think this poor bird is going to fly anytime soon." She frowned.

A sad smile crossed on her face as she watched the wounded bird stagger, it's balance ruined by the additional weight on it's busted wing. A comforting hand came down on her shoulders, Miku beaming as she watched the broken bird try it's best to return to the skies, a couple of hops being the best that it could manage.

"Sometimes, just the effort alone is infinitely more beautiful than the result."

Glancing over towards the bird as it hopped around, attempting to flap it's wings in the process, Kokoro found herself concurring.

 _Broken as it was, it was beautiful indeed._

* * *

 _In the deepest, darkest part of a forest lived a strong and beautiful beast princess._

His lungs burned as he ran, the arms of his childhood self wrapped around him to avoid being thrown off at the speed he was sprinting at.

 _Beckoned by the moonlight, she wandered into a country of humans, and in the moonlit garden of a small castle-_

Stumbling from a bad footing, Hiro fell to his knees, kicking up snow around them. Coughing out the discomfort in his lungs as he wheezed for breath, he rose and made to sprint once more.

 _She fell in love with a prince._

As his loud panting rang out in the forest surrounding him, small rodents scattered out of his path as he ran.

 _But the princess was a beast, with ashen wings on her back._

"Hurry!" The voice on his back urged.

"I know, dammit!" Hiro cried out, the stabbing pain in his head intensifying as the memories replayed themselves during their journey.

 _Not knowing what to do, she went to see a witch who lived at the edge of a forest and said, "I want to live as a human. I want to be united with him."_

"We're close!"

Gritting his teeth as he pushed past the burning of his muscles, Hiro ran with all his heart.

 _The witch replied like so: "I can help you if you offer me your wings. But keep this in mind. No matter how you disguise yourself, you are a beast-_

"We're here!" He called out.

Skidding to a stop, his childhood self jumping off his back as he did so, Hiro bent over, hands on his knees as he caught his breath. Breathing harshly as he steadied himself, allowing the burning of his muscles to subside, Hiro rose his gaze towards the massive tree that was sacred to them.

 ** _and you will consume the prince's life one day._** _"_

Where the red-skinned beast child, now clothed in rags, was cowering in fear as the crowd of security troops and caretakers advanced upon her, weapons raised. A short distance away, the bloody form of his childhood self lay broken, his bright red blood producing a beautiful contrast against the whiteness of the snow.

"Why are you showing me this? I know I failed to protect Zero Two. There's no need to rub it in."

Turning towards the young child that stood beside him, Hiro accused, his tone none too gentle.

"You're wrong."

"...!"

A sound came from his throat at his honest answer.

"I failed to protect her, because I'm just a child who doesn't have the power to protect anyone."

Rising his eyes to meet his, he affirmed the differences between them.

"But you are not me."

With unhappiness rising from the frustration at the blind faith placed on him, Hiro spoke, his voice rising.

"In but a few moments, I'm going to lose Zero Two forever! So yes, we are the same! We both failed to keep her safe!"

A hard grip on his wrist silenced him, as he spoke.

"The situation is different this time, right now, you have the power to change the ending of that picture book."

Harsh, mirthless laughter spilt forth from Hiro as the words left his lips.

"It doesn't matter if I'm an adult or a child, as long as we both remain the 'prince', we've damned ourselves to follow the same path as that picture book!"

Pretending to be a prince and calling her a princess was what gotten them into this mess in the first place. This was reality! Did he really think placing fantasy titles allowed them to avoid the cruel ministrations of the broken planet around them?

Shaking his head at the folly of his older self, young Hiro spoke.

"There you go again. Don't you see? Being so tunneled-visioned all the time on the ideal of being a 'prince' is whats holding you back."

Blinking at his words which confused him, Hiro spoke, tilting his head as he did so.

"What do you mean?"

Rolling his eyes and grumbling to himself at how much of a dumb person he had seemed to age into, young Hiro sighed as he prepared to set his older self straight.

"If the 'prince' isn't useful, just be something else instead. Be whoever she needs, don't shut yourself out by stubbornly sticking to an unrealistic ideal."

Feeling the weight of his body lighten as his form lost it's opacity, signalling that his time was up, he squeezed his hand in reassurance, glancing upwards as he did so.

"Besides, you're not alone, aren't you?"

As he felt his corporeal form fade away, young Hiro could only flash a smile at the dumbfounded expression on his silly, older self.

"She's watching, isn't she?"

Blinking his eyes as he felt the disintegrating particles leave his fingers, Hiro pondered over his words as he looked towards the massive tree.

Where the red-skinned beast child cowered in the shadows of the looming figures over her.

 _Something more than a 'prince', huh?_

Shifting his fingers as he felt the dust that lingered on them, Hiro nodded as he finally understood what was required of him. Striding forward, he made his way towards the back of the gathered crowd, their focus still on the cowering beast child before them.

Steadying himself, he called out her name.

"Zero Two!"

In but a moment, every head had snapped to place their gaze upon him. With hushed whispers among themselves, they discussed the newcomer who had interfered with their capture.

"Awwi!"

With a pitched cry of happiness, the beast child scrambled towards him, the panicked cries of her captors sounding off as she dove and weaved between their legs, dodging their grabby hands as she did so.

Flinging herself towards him and diving behind his form as shelter, she hissed her hostility towards the faceless guards.

Hiro could only smile at how adorable she was being as she snarled at her captors, all the while clinging to his leg as she did so.

"It took me a while, but I'm here for you now, Zero Two."

A quick hand signal was communicated between the guards. With the sounds of racking weapons and cycling bolts, dozens of red laser sights lingered on Hiro as he stared down the barrels of their rifles.

"And I'll never-"

Whimpering sounds of fear came from behind him, causing the muscles in his cheeks to tighten at the fear she was forced to endure.

"Leave your side, ever again."

A single familiar throb greeted Hiro as he placed his hands over his heart, his eyes closed as he raised his head towards the cloudy, downcast skies above them. Clutching at the sensation that filled his heart, Hiro made his summon.

"You've been watching all this time, haven't you?" He whispered.

Multiple clicking sounds rang out as the guards flicked off their weapon safeties, forming a symphony of promised death.

 **"Strelizia."**

The bird of paradise announced it's arrival with a snowstorm.

The blazing gales of wind from behind him caused his dark hair to billow as the guards and captors dropped their weapons, their hands forced to shield their eyes from the blades of wind.

Roaring boosters added to the storm of snow and wind around them. Up above, the downcast, grey clouds were cleared away. The sunlight breaking through and bringing life to the frozen landscape.

A loud landing impact from behind sent snow scattering all around them, the dark shadow of Strelizia's form looming over them, consuming Hiro and Zero Two in it's cocoon.

Cowed by the might of Strelizia, the gathered crowd fled for their lives. Rifles and magma tipped pokers scattering onto the snow covered ground as they fled.

Keeping his eyes fixed on the retreating guards the entire time, his attention was snatched away by a soft, feminine breath tickling him.

Warm, loving arms wrapped around his neck as she embraced him from behind. The firmness of her chest molding against his back and causing a breath to hitch in his throat from the pleasurable sensation they provided, twin peaks digging into his Stamen suit.

Resting her head on his shoulders, hot breaths splashed against him as a sweet, familiar voice cooed honey into his ears.

"To call upon me like this, I'm blushing." She giggled.

Chuckling to himself at her voice, Hiro smiled as he lowered his gaze.

"Of course. After all, I made a promise to forever remain by your side. Right, Zero-"

A smile that fell off as a pair of huge, ashen wings came to form a cocoon around him.

 _This isn't Zero Two!_

As every warning bell went off in his mind, Hiro surged forward, breaking out of her gentle embrace.

Turning to face the unknown entity that had the audacity to mimic Zero Two's lovely voice, his eyes widened as he drunk in her form.

"Two...?"

Staring back at him was a carbon copy of Zero Two, pink hair falling past her shoulders to grace her pretty face. Even the red horns and eyeliner that she possessed were replicated.

Tracing his eyes down her nude form, a hormonal part of his mind noted that this imposter had managed to sculpt her... assets perfectly.

Basically, if one ignored the large, ashen wings on her back and the steely grey irises in her eyes, the naked female in front of him was a picture perfect replica of Zero Two.

 _Down to the curves on her butt-_

Coughing into his hands as he forced his eyes away, Hiro shifted in place as he tried to hide the growing problem he was facing. A blush lit up his cheeks as Hiro pulled at the collar of his Stamen suit to allow some of the toasty heat that had built into his body to escape.

Cheesing at him the entire time, the imposter awaited him to finish, leaning forward and coyly tilting her head as she held her hands behind her, pink hair falling forward to provide a modesty cover for her chest.

 _She even smiles like her, I wonder if she smells the same-_

Rapidly shaking his head to pull himself together, Hiro determinedly fixed his eyes onto her steel grey ones, doing his best not to let his judgement be _swayed_ by the mounds of fat that shifted in place as she breathed.

"I need your help." His tone soft, Hiro pleaded his case.

Her smile grew every wider at the sound of his voice, if it were possible, the edges of her lips reaching upwards as she grinned.

"And at the end of your rope, you finally came to me for assistance? You must truly be desperate."

Licking her lips, Strelizia spoke.

Nodding towards the bird of paradise, he confessed.

"I want to change the ending of that picture book. So help me, Strelizia."

Strutting up to him, her bare feet leaving marks in the snow as she breached his personal space, Hiro noted, despite the severity of his current situation-

 _Yes, she did indeed share the same sweet fragrance that wafted from Zero Two whenever she embraced him._

Blinking as he felt his face flush with heat, Hiro could only stare at the unclothed beauty before him as she traced a finger across the chest of his Stamen suit.

"Using magic, comes at a price. I can't guarantee your life if you go through with this." She winked.

Tilting her head, she smiled.

"But you already know that, don't you?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

Caressing his heart, she whispered to him, her voice kind and affectionate.

"What'll it be?"

Lidding her eyes, she exhaled, her sweet breath splashing onto his face.

"If you want off this ride, now's your chance."

"You, the flower of love who stands before me, answered my summons. That alone should tell you everything."

Clearing his mind as he prepared to sacrifice everything for Zero Two's sake, Hiro replied, conviction and resolve in his steady voice.

"I'll pay any price you ask for your assistance."

The edges of her lips curved as the beginnings of laugh began to leave her. Tilting her head in surprise as amusement filled her steel grey eyes, Strelizia unleashed a loud, hearty laugh that soon turned into a cackle as she twirled away, dancing on her bare feet, long pink hair tossing about from her motion.

Clutching at her stomach as she wiped away the tears that had formed on her eyes from her lengthy laughter, she shook her head.

"So many terrible things are done for love. For love will men sacrifice themselves and crush their enemies. For love even a peaceful man will go to war. For love, man will destroy himself, and willingly."

Shrieking laughter rose once more from her form as she cried out.

"It's funny isn't it? They named me after the flower of love, but the worst crimes in human history were committed under the influence of passion!"

Panting out as she caught her breath, Strelizia hopped towards him once more, ashen wings forming a cocoon around them, sealing off the outside world. Inside the darkness of their private realm born from her wings, the only thing that Hiro could see were the shining glint of her steel grey eyes.

Her hands reached out to stroke at his horns, his newfound symbol of inhumanity.

The humanity that he had discarded to be by Zero Two's side.

With a soft voice, she spoke.

"Never lose sight of your love, my child. Everything starts from there. Whatever happens from here on out, as long as you remember your purpose. You will never wander so far from her side that you can never return."

As Hiro watched the beating red core of his soul be slowly drawn out from his chest into her palms, the baseball sized blood red orb throbbing and pulsing in sync with his heartbeat-

With a smile on his face, Hiro teased.

"Will you be charging for that too?"

A sharp laugh came from her at his quip. Winking at him, she grinned.

"It's a freebie."

* * *

In the darkness of the cockpit, a pair of bright blue irises lit up.

"I... I want to protect Zero Two."

Closely followed by a pair of horns.

"I won't let them take her away from me, ever again."

Releasing his hands that were respectively gripping at his face and chest, Hiro laid them on the controls.

"Grant me strength-!"

A vision of a crying, red-skinned beast child beneath a mistletoe tree came forth.

 **"Strelizia!"  
**

* * *

"...!"

Sounds of surprise came from both Pistils as the wounded bird took flight, it's wings brushing against their faces as it flew past them.

With red liquid dripping from it's body, leaving a trail of blood in it's wake, the Jian soared.

Against all odds, it took flight to the skies.

* * *

A plume of dust exploded outwards, the shockwave of the effect sending Nine Gamma reeling back as red colored the exterior of Hi-Filament Strelizia. A deep, rumbling roar came forth as Strelizia slammed it's red heels forward, sending fault lines to fracture across the earth.

"It activated!? Tsk!" Squeezing an eye shut in shock, Nine Beta spoke, worry filling his tone.

"Strelizia..."

In awe at the rebirth he was witnessing, wonder washed over his form as Nine Alpha murmured.

Inside Strelizia's cockpit, Ichigo could only smile as she watched strands of her blue bangs, the ones that she had kept longer on a single side, turn white before her very eyes.

"Hmmph. So this is how it feels."

Feeling all the pain that she was enduring the entire time leave her body as her soul itself merged with Strelizia and became one, Ichigo grinned.

* * *

Within the Command Center, the pulse readings for Strelizia's pilots spiked to the measurable limits of their pulse tracker. With shock in his voice as he watched the positive and negative pulses both cap themselves at 199, Hachi exclaimed.

"What's this!?"

Strelizia's circuits were completely fried from the EMP attack! How had it managed to reactivate itself?

"Sync rates are capped at 199! All sensors are reporting errors in their measurements!"

With a frown on her face, Nana snapped at the operator.

"Who's connected!? Is it Zero Two?"

As the operator brought up the image of a blue-haired Pistil on the screen, with her negative pulse capping at 199-

Along with her heart rate monitor as it breached 150bpm and continued climbing, Nana's heart sank.

"SHUT IT DOWN!"

The blood in her veins turned to ice at his roar. In her entire time spent in service as his assistant, Nana had never heard him raise his voice in that manner.

Pushing past her with his cane, Doctor Franxx clamped a hand onto the cowering operator.

"Use my override code! Shut Strelizia down, now!" He ordered.

Hastily typing in the manual shutdown code, the operator flinched at the loud rejection as the system flashed red and screeched in her ears.

"Strelizia is rejecting all attempts at interference!" She cried out.

Smashing his teeth together, Werner slammed his fists on the console banks.

"He locked us out!? It's too early for that! Now's not the time to force it, boy!"

Furiously shaking his cane at the main screen which displayed their status, Werner bellowed.

"Stop it, you foolish boy! If you keep going, you'll be absorbed into the machine!"

* * *

With his bright blue pupils dilated and unseeing, his mind having fled to distant shores, Hiro spoke, a feminine tilt to his voice layering over his speech patterns.

 **"My charges, I shall take flight once more."**

As his voice reverberated and echoed with that feminine tilt, Zero Two shivered at the unease filling her body. Frantically shaking his shoulders to bring him back to reality, Zero Two knocked their horns together, as she desperately sought him out through their connection.

"Darling!?"

Undeterred, he continued speaking in that unnatural, layered voice.

 **"Decide whether you want to resist or accept your ending."**

The lack of response as she skimmed through his surface thoughts frightened her.

"Why can't I hear your voice, when you're right here?"

Turning towards the blue-haired Pistil tensed in her seat, Zero Two screamed.

"Ichigo! What did you do to my darling!?"

The shadowed expression cast by her bangs was her only reply, her consciousness too absorbed into Strelizia to even register her words.

A smile cracked on her face as Ichigo bathed in the fresh morning air as it kissed Strelizia's hide, feeling it as if it were her own, her mind speaking out for her as she finally succeeded in reaching a depth of connection she never had before with the one person she cherished the most.

 _Right now, I feel you closer to me ever before._

 _I know what you're thinking like the back of my own hand._

 _No matter what happens from here on out,_

 _I was glad that I could be by your side until the very end, Hiro!_

 _Thank you for naming me and granting me happiness!_

Feeling the blood heat up in his veins at her confession, Hiro sucked in the deepest breath he could, relishing in the freshness of the morning air as it coursed through his lungs, his irises glistening blue as they shrunk and refocused themselves.

His voice returning back to it's normal tone, Hiro declared.

"With the blood of two races coursing through my veins, the flame of life burns once more!"

Blue flames belched from Hi-Filament Strelizia's thrusters as it rose skywards, it's wing binders fully extending to their maximum length behind them.

"To strike down all who threaten her, is my duty that I shall fulfill with all of my strength!"

Detaching from underneath it's wing binders, the four armor bits buzzed overhead, their barrels alight with the orange glow of magma energy.

"I swear this on my blade, as Code 016..."

Drawing the hidden Magma Saber from Strelizia's hip, it's steel glinting under the morning sun along with a high-pitched ringing sound as he displayed his blade, Strelizia's arm outstretched as he gripped it.

"No, Hiro!"

Allowing the shield to crash onto the ground, kicking up dirt in the process, the Magma Stakes on Strelizia's left arm crackled as it readied itself.

 **"Knight-!"**

He roared as orange Magma Fuel surged forth and ignited the Magma Saber, it's grey blade now lit up in orange as it sizzled in the cool, morning air.

"Of the Princess!"

With the superheated blade trailing behind them, Strelizia charged.

Unnoticed to the naked eye, lines of microscopic cracks begun to form on his horns.

* * *

 **A/N: Happy New Years. See you in 2019.**


End file.
